Family Ties
by Madianna
Summary: Verona faces a dangerous time. With an election looming that will determine the city's fate, a royal wedding full of volatile warring guests, Angelo Fulgencio, Deputy of Verona, must deal with a career destroying accusation and a terrifying medical diagnosis. Will he and his family discover they need each other more than ever? An installment of the Child Swap Series.
1. Royal Engagement

Well, hello again! It's been a year since TSOV, right? I know I said I wouldn't do another, but I had this idea circling around all year, and it wouldn't go away. Now, since it's Shakespeare's birthday, I thought I'd post it!

I think in the year away, my writing's got a little better. Updates won't be as frequent, but chapters will be a lot longer, like double the size they were in the first Child Swap.

Also, some new characters are going to be introduced! Yay! You might recognise some being mentioned in this chapter. Many of the characters are from Shakespeare's so-called history plays. Therefore, they will be a mixture of their personalities in the play and the historical person they were based on. I'm saying this because RichardIII1955 has made a Ricardian out of me, and I don't like what Shakespeare wrote about poor Richard III.

And also, this is the first installment which is M rated! You'll find out why later.

Disclaiming time - Two characters, Allegra and Micro, do not belong to me. They belong to Cornadopia, who kindly lent them to me when I was writing ALYN, and has let me feature them since. As a thanks to Cornadopia for letting me use them, please read and review her story, Mercutio and Allegra.

* * *

"Mercutio" said Escalus, trying to sound friendly and firm at the same time "Have you ever thought about taking up any royal duties?"

"What royal duties?" asked Mercutio, fiddling with his phone.

"Well, you know. Public appearances, charity work, being an ambassador for our family on state visits. Have you ever thought about it?"

"Nope!" sang Mercutio delightedly.

"Well," said Escalus "You are twenty years old now. I've indulged you long enough. You're going to have to start thinking about it, because, Verona expects it of you"

"Verona can suck my-"

"Mercutio!" cried Escalus, before Mercutio could say something rude.

"You made me ruin my game!" shrieked Mercutio "You mean old poo poo head!"

"Mercutio" groaned Escalus. Mercutio threw his phone at the wall and turned around to face the other wall, sitting down on the ground and sulking "What are you doing?"

"Being stupid and immature, as always" Paris rolled his eyes, wandering through the hallway.

"That's enough, Paris" said Escalus firmly "I was just explaining to Mercutio, that Verona expects him to start performing royal duties now that he is of age. In fact, if anything, he is over age. He is twenty"

"And he acts like a four year old" scolded Paris "You wouldn't think he had a kid of his own"

"I am in the room, you know" retorted Mercutio, swivelling around.

"Good. I wanted you to hear" swarmed Paris.

"That's enough, both of you!" sighed Escalus.

"Anyway, Paris, what are you doing here?" asked Mercutio "And why are you smirking like that?"

"None of your business" replied Paris "Oh, wait, actually, it is your business. And, Uncle Escalus, it's yours too. You'll both be the first to know"

"The first to know what?" asked Mercutio.

"I have something to confess" Paris grinned widely.

Mercutio held his hands together as if he were praying "Oh please God, he's gay. Gay, gay, gay!"

"No!" spat Paris "I'm engaged!"

"To another man? Gay, gay, gay!"

"No!" snapped Paris "To a woman!"

"Who?" Mercutio wrinkled his nose "Who would be that desperate?"

Paris rolled his eyes again "She's not desperate, and I'm not desperate. We happen to love one another"

"You, love? You, have feelings? Ha!" snorted Mercutio.

"That's enough, Mercutio!" Escalus scolded. He turned eagerly to Paris "Well done, my boy! Tell us more, Paris. What's her name? Who is it?"

"Helena, Ned Lancely's daughter and heiress. She is, well, used to be friends with Mercutio's nutter accomplice, Hermia Capulet, and she used to date Demetrius Menelaus, who is the very reason they stopped being friends"

"Oh, she's a lovely girl!" beamed Escalus approvingly "Well done, Paris! You have chosen well"

Mercutio chewed his lip "She could do better"

"Like who? Like that monster?"

"No! I meant, she could do better than a stupid, stuck-up, pompous, vain, money-obsessed prick like yourself. What do you want, her inheritance?"

"No!" scoffed Paris "I care about her! She's a sweet girl! We understand each other! Neither of us like to brag and show off and do weird things, we're both sensible, and we both love the same kind of music, and we both care about our futures and like to talk about our plans. And anyway, at least she's not a wild cat like that thing you bred with. Our kids will be sane!"

"Don't insult Allegra in front of me!" roared Mercutio, lunging at him.

"Stop that!" yelled Escalus, jumping between them "That's enough! Will you two please just stop squaring off with each other? I've had enough trouble with the Plantagenets in England fighting each other and either sides ringing me, the Duke of Mantua, the Duke of Milan, and the Council of Ten in Venice, up, demanding money and armies, which none of us have. I don't know what I'd do without Angelo these days..."

"Why, what's he doing?" asked Paris.

Escalus glanced this way and that, before whispering to the boys "Telling Margaret of Anjou where to stick it"

Mercutio cackled gleefully "Can I talk to her? Can I blow raspberries down the phone at her?"

"No, you bloody well can't!" cried Escalus "We're trying to stay neutral between the Yorkists and the Lancasters. If they come knocking, asking for money and armies, we say, no, quite politely. If they flee here looking for shelter, we give it to them, but we ask them to move on as soon as possible. I forbid you, Mercutio, from antagonising any of them. Do you understand?"

"No" Mercutio stretched "Can I go now? I said I'd watch Micro so All could see Juliet without him bugging them"

"Yes, you can go" sighed Escalus "But remember, I've warned you!"

Mercutio pranced off, doing a bizarre dance-walk. Escalus shook his head, but then motioned for Paris to follow him.

"You do know we'll have to invite them"

"Yes, I do. But I'm sure everything will have blown over by then" said Paris.

"Hopefully" Escalus glanced up at the sky.

"I'm more concerned with matters here in Verona" said Paris.

"Why's that?" asked Escalus.

"I don't know" shrugged Paris. He patted his slick black hair back into place "Perhaps we ought to make sure that our home ties are secure before we are dragged into other political squabbles"


	2. The Swan's Duckling

RichardIII1955 - Thanks so much!

Oooh, I sense some drama brewing in Verona! Now, we're going to switch over to hear from Gabriel. I know he's unpopular, but I need to post this chapter from his perspective, otherwise it won't make sense. The ballet dance he performs in actually one of my favourites. I love the original Swan Lake, and Matthew Bourne's interpretation. The shirtless male swans are HOT! If anyone wants, I can send them a link to some scenes.

* * *

"Lead swan, in five" called the technician, and Gabriel was ready. Slowly, he slid off the towel he used to keep himself warm whilst backstage, to reveal his bare chest and feathered shorts. He flexed his muscles, to make sure the blood was flowing and that he wouldn't pull any of them. He wrinkled his bare feet, trying to keep them warm.

Beside him, the boys playing his swan friends darted on and off stage. Gabriel snuck peeks at them through the curtains as they wove around one another on the blue misty stage. They looked at him enviously, but he ignored them all. This was his moment. The music rose in pitch, as it drew closer to his cue. Gabriel watched as the prince stumbled around on stage, waiting for the glimpse of his swan. He took deep calming breaths, feeling the adrenaline surge through his body.

He gave his muscles one last flex, and then it was time. It was his moment. His feet left the floor, and he soared onto the stage in a leap. The music dimmed from the crescendo as he landed. Gabriel looked each way beadily, embodying the movements. He flexed his shoulders, as if they were large feathered wings. The prince glanced over to him in shock, stunned at the sight of this beautiful bird, representing the freedom and about to give the love he so desperately craved.

Gabriel began to dance, darting around the stage, the ruffled feathers on his shorts swaying. The prince followed him, tried to mimic him, but Gabriel just glanced his way disdainfully, reminding himself of his sister, Rosaline as he did so. His swan friends gathered their leader, and they danced together, as a single unit, a flock. Gabriel was reminded of his old friends, as they pranced around Verona.

He was performing in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, which was famous for replacing the traditional all-female corps with an ensemble of menacing male swans. Gabriel was the Lead Swan, the lead danseur, at just nineteen years old. After returning home from Venice, he was approached by old ballet teacher, who was setting up a new company, who asked if he would like to join them. Gabriel accepted immediately – he could stay in Verona with Amparo, and he would earn far more as the lead danseur than as a member of the corps in La Scala.

It had been difficult to begin with. He accepted the role of the Lead Swan in this production over a more classical ballet role, because of how the dance focussed more on men, which was unusual in classical ballet. Gabriel was trained for classical ballet, and had initially found it hard to adjust to the looser, less controlled contemporary modern dance. But none the less, he had always enjoyed watching contemporary ballet, and he identified with and loved the role.

The build-up to the opening night had been immense, and Gabriel just knew that if he made his name with this role, then he would be famous. When the season ended, he would accept and retrain for a role in a classical ballet production. And then, with the experience of both, he could dance whatever role he wanted. The world of ballet was his for the taking.

As the act ended, Gabriel ushered offstage and back to his dressing room, to change into his outfit the next act. Like in the original Swan Lake, Gabriel would be dancing two roles tonight. He slipped off the ruffled feather trousers, wiped off the white make-up from his torso and face, and scrubbed away the black markings on his forehead which represented his beak. Instead, he slipped on a black shirt and black leather trousers. When he looked into the mirror of his changing room, he saw the son of von Rothbart smirking back at him.

"Young von Rothbart in five!" called the technician, and Gabriel sauntered out, feeling himself fall into character. Within moments, he was writhing around on stage, seducing the whole court, dancing with all the women, flirting with the prince's mother. This was his favourite part of the dance. All those sporty boys who'd teased him for being a ballet dancer hung around each other in tight shorts on a football field and in the changing rooms, and Gabriel got to dance with a hot older woman in a skimpy sexy dress. Yeah, sure as hell that made him gay. It made him laugh.

Although, he did dance with the prince as well, and he was the prince's love interest in the dance. But, in the words of Matthew Bourne himself, it was really a story about the need to be loved, which couldn't everyone identify with?

Gabriel finished the act, rejecting the prince and being accepted as the prince's mother's new lover. His on-stage father, von Rothbart, nodded his approval, as Gabriel handed him the gun the prince had just tried to shoot him with. Laughing manically, he pranced offstage.

And for the final act, Gabriel peeled off the leather trousers and black shirt. He patted white powder to his torso and face, and then pulled on his ruffled feather trousers. Sitting down at the chair in his changing room, he slowly repainted on his beak so he could finish the act as the swan.

Emerging from under the pillows on the prince's bed, Gabriel finished the act beautifully. He gracefully and sorrowfully nuzzled the prince as he collapsed onto the ground, and shielded him from his flock of swans after they turned on him for preferring the prince to them. But they won, and Gabriel fell, as they attacked him. The prince too collapsed again on his bed, dying from his broken heart. Gabriel and the swans disappeared from sight, but Gabriel darted around to the back of the bed, clutching the boy who played the young prince in his arms. As the prince's mother rushed into find her deceased son whom she had neglected, he rose above the bed, cradling the child in his arms like a baby. The curtains fell, as he paternally leant his head over the boy.

After the technicians had removed the props, leaving just Gabriel and the adult prince on the stage, the curtains rose again. He stepped forwards to take his bow, and...

The applause thundered throughout the hall. He'd been wonderful. There were even flowers being thrown onto the stage. Gabriel felt a tear sting his eye as he bowed.

This was what he had been born to do.

* * *

After the bows finished, Gabriel rushed backstage.

"Rene!" he shouted "Rene! How was I?"

"Your girlfriend call me!" cried Rene in his French-accented broken Italian.

"What? But Amparo's-"

"No, not zat girlfriend! Ze one before!"

"You mean Rose?"

"She 'aving baby!"

"What?" Gabriel spluttered.

"She 'aving baby! Right now! Ziz night! In ze 'ospital!" Rene continued to shout "You vill be daddy in few hours! You vill 'ave duckling!"

"A duckling?"

"Yes! You are swan, you 'ave baby, it vill be duckling"

Gabriel raised an eyebrow "Not an ugly one, I hope"

"You are pretty boy, vill be pretty baby"

"Did she say when? How far apart are the contractions? How dilated is she?" asked Gabriel, as the implications of what was truly happening hit him.

"She no say about 'er contractions, but she say zat ze baby vill be 'ere in few hours, so you must be at ze 'ospital to wait for it, like you agreed to be"

"I better go then!" cried Gabriel "How will I get there? We were going to have an after party, Amparo was going to pick me up"

"I vill drive you and wait with you, if you want" said Rene "You 'ave time for shower, and zen we vill go. I vill tell _mon copane _zat you cannot come, and zat neither can I. Go! Go! Ve must be quick!"

Gabriel turned and ran to his dressing room. He massaged in shampoo frantically, washing away the white powder and black markings. Then he rubbed in conditioner. He knew he didn't really need it, and that he was wasting his time, but he was about to go and meet his baby for the first time. He had to look his best – first impressions last, you know, and Gabriel had to look his best for his new baby.

He dressed in the smart Armani suit he had planned to wear to the after party, and quickly slid on a silver chain watch on one wrist, and a silver bangle on his second. He wore a pair of diamond earrings, but left his hair loose. Three quarters of an hour later, Gabriel emerged.

"You took too long, girlfriend's mummy call me, tell me zat she ez progrez-zing in ze labour! 'urry, 'urry, in ze car. I tell Silvio zat you vill not be zere – 'e understand but disappointed. Come, come!"

Gabriel followed Rene through the crowd, his heart beating wildly. He was finally about to meet his little one. The photographers outside flashed at him, but Gabriel simply smiled and nodded for them graciously. When Angelo had dragged him along to boring political dinners, Gabriel had become accustomed to being snapped whilst arriving and leaving.

"How did it feel to be on stage for the first time?" shouted a man.

"Magnificent!" Gabriel called over his shoulder.

"Do you think the opening night was a success?" shouted a woman.

"Oh, definitely!" Gabriel called back, as Rene tugged him onwards.

"We 'ave no time for zem. I tell Silvio to 'andle questions for you, and 'e 'as. Ziz ez your night, you must concentrate on you. Car ez 'ere, get in ze car"

Rene guided Gabriel into the front seat, and then climbed into the driver's seat. It was a warm summer's night, but they shut the windows and put the air conditioning on instead as the paparazzi were still shoving their cameras in their faces. Rene drove down the streets of Verona, and Gabriel looked out, remembering how, just a few years ago, he had pranced along them at night, going out to dance, never knowing just what he'd be doing in a few years...

"Gabriel! Which 'ospital ez girlfriend at?"

"Verona Community Hospital, it's on Montague territory. Well, I mean, the east side of the town. I don't know why I still call it that"

"Still used to feud. 'ow long 'ave we 'ad peace?"

"Um..." Gabriel broke off to count on his fingers "Three years?"

" 'ez so nice, ez so quiet" said Rene "Ah, yes, ziz place. I come 'ere when I 'urt my foot dancing once. Nice staff. Shall I get ze parking ticket, and you go in?"

Gabriel was suddenly nervous "I'll pay for the ticket. And we'll go together"

They did just that, and by then, Gabriel was able to confidently walk into reception.

"Um...excuse me, my...partner is having our baby. Her name is Rose Spearings. Does she want me to go in?"

Gabriel nodded to Rene as he sat down.

"I do you favour, I wait for you, and I vill take you 'ome if et ez quick" said Rene, grabbing a magazine.

"Thanks, Rene" said Gabriel, pacing down the hallway to Rose's room.

Rose slumped up in bed, groaning. Her mother sat beside her. Nicole had never liked Gabriel. She'd always thought he was a 'weird boy' and had preferred Benvolio.

"Oh, hi, how's it going?" asked Gabriel.

"Shut up" growled Rose.

"I didn't say anything!" protested Gabriel "I just asked you how you were. I thought that was a normal thing to do" he added, glaring at Nicole.

"There's only room for one dramatic person in this room!" yelled Rose.

"I wasn't going to be dramatic!" snapped Gabriel.

"Stop upsetting her" scowled Nicole.

"I wasn't doing anything of the sort" retorted Gabriel "I asked her how she was, she snapped at me, so I retaliated. What did you expect me to do?"

"Gabriel, why don't you just go and wait in the waiting room?" sighed Rose.

"Why? You said-"

"Yes, I know, what I said" Rose closed her eyes "But this will never work with both of you here. And I know how much you hate blood, Gabriel"

Gabriel flounced out, and slumped next to Rene.

"She didn't want me there" he sulked "And I'm the father! It's my baby too"

Rene sighed sympathetically "At least you can 'ave baby. I am gay – I 'ave no babies"

"You can adopt"

"Yes – ven daddy finally passes zat law. Ven vill 'e do it?"

"I have no idea" Gabriel rolled his eyes "He doesn't want to wind up all the religious people. He's such a coward"

"I vill not vote for 'im, if 'e does not give me my rights!"

"Good. I want him to lose power. So then Amparo can take over. What Verona needs, is a woman in charge. To quote Margaret Thatcher 'Ask a man politician, and he'll have it said. Ask a woman politician, and she'll have it done' That's Amparo and Angelo sussed"

"I vill vote for girlfriend" nodded Rene "Ven she is in charge of party"

Gabriel grabbed his bag, and pulled out his list of names.

"I have a feeling it will be a long night" he sighed "So, if the baby's a girl, how about...Coppelia?"

* * *

Gabriel bent over the cot, and looked down at his little boy for the first time. It was as though he was looking back into the past. The baby had exactly his shade of platinum blond hair, the same face shape and eyes, a little nose, and pouty lips. He did not cry, but simply looked around curiously with big blue eyes.

Gabriel lifted the end of the blanket to look at the baby's feet. Unlike him, the baby's feet were soft and dainty, having never taken a step in his life. Gabriel stroked the sole, and it felt like velvet. The baby had high arches and a high instep – just like him. Perfect for dancing.

"Aren't you beautiful?" murmured Gabriel, putting back down the blanket, to stoke the baby's cheek. He ghosted his fingers over the blanket, wondering how to pick him up. Well, he could pick up his cat ok, and so a baby shouldn't be too hard. Gabriel tucked an arm under his torso, and used one hand to lift his bottom, and soon, his baby was in his arms.

The baby looked right up into Gabriel's eyes, as if recognising him for the very first time. He did not cry or whimper, but gazed straight into his eyes. Gabriel smiled delightedly. He turned to see Rene, standing outside, and beckoned him in.

"How do I look?" asked Gabriel "Old?"

"No, you look nice. Very nice" Rene replied "Should I be 'ere? I am not fham-eely"

"Whatever. Look at the baby's feet, Rene" Gabriel lifted the blanket "He has my feet. He looks just like me, and he has my feet. Isn't he sweet?"

Rene admired the baby's toes "Ven vill I be teaching 'im?"

"Well, I started when I was three" said Gabriel "If the little one here wants to do ballet, then you'll see him when he's ready. Or maybe he might do something else. Drama is good for kids. It helps build their confidence. And being able to play an instrument is always a good skill. Did you hear that, baby? Daddy has so many wonderful things waiting for you to do"

"Vot vill 'is name be?" asked Rene "You 'ave to chose boy name. Not Coppelia or Odette. 'ow about Siegfried?"

Gabriel lifted the baby so he could see his face clearly "Alexei" he said firmly "I will call you Alexei. It's Russian, and it means 'defender of mankind' I have always loved Russian names. I think it suits him, don't you?"

"Yes. 'e ez bey-oo-tiful baby. Like 'is daddy. I told you zat ze duckling vould be bey-oo-tiful"

"Can you take a picture of us? So I can show Amparo and the rest of the company tomorrow"

"Yes, of course. You are first person to 'old and cuddle leetle baby in 'is life"

"What about the midwives?"

"Yes, zey 'old 'im, but zey do not cuddle 'im and love 'im like you. You vill be better daddy zan zat idiot Angelo" Rene pulled out his phone, and Gabriel posed. He snapped a picture, and then sent it to Gabriel's phone. Meanwhile, Gabriel cooed over Alexei, who yawned and grasped hold of Gabriel's bangle.

"He likes my bangle, Rene! Are you a little mini-me, Alexei? You look just like me. Oh, the girls will all be clamouring over each other for you before you've even hit your teens!"

"If 'e ez anything like you, zey vill be old enough to be 'iz muzzer!"

"Oi" said Gabriel "Amparo and I are made for each other. And she would have been fifteen when she had me. That would be wrong"

"Says ze boy... 'oo iz nineteen and 'as baby!"

"My mother was nineteen when she had me as well" retorted Gabriel. He gently rocked Alexei "I ought to bully her contact details out of Angelo. I'm an adult now. I can do what I want. And I refuse to allow Angelo to deprive Alexei of a grandmother, as he deprived me of a mother. Although, I suppose I ought to call Angelo and tell him he's a grandparent. Ha! He's not even fifty – and he's already walked one child up the aisle and got a grandchild. I suppose the only bonus is that he won't look all wrinkly in the photo album"

Rene snorted "Gabriel, you are funny boy!"

Gabriel smirked, but then turned his attention back to Alexei. He simply could not stop from turning to gaze into his baby's eyes. Alexei continued to reframe from crying and to gaze back up at Gabriel's eyes.

Rene yawned.

"I suppose we should go" said Gabriel "It's so late. I feel bad, though, he's all on his own..."

"Maybe girlfriend vill change 'er mind?" suggested Rene.

"Unlikely" Gabriel sighed "She didn't even want him in the same room as her"

"So sad. Girls get pregnant all ze time, and never want baby. But gay couples not allowed to adopt zem? Ez so unfair!"

"Oh, I know" Gabriel shook his head "It's outrageous. I mean, I'd rather be brought up by two men or two women than a someone who didn't want me. Well, I was. I'm a broken condom"

"Do not say zat. You are wonderful person, deep down. I know zat. And you vill be good daddy to Alexei. 'istory does not 'ave to repeat itself. Ziz is your chance to make things right"

"You're right" Gabriel bent over, and kissed Alexei's forehead "Rene, do you still have my document regarding my wishes for his healthcare?"

"Yes, I 'ave it 'ere, with ze names zat you vill not use"

"Thank you" said Gabriel, laying Alexei back down in his crib, and attaching the sheet to the chart at the end of the cot. Gabriel couldn't bear the sight of his son being left alone in the hospital, but he had to get back home to break the news to Amparo and to get himself organized. Paternity leave was out of the question – he'd barely broken big and couldn't stop now, so he had to arrange childcare.

As Gabriel and Rene left, and as Gabriel thought what a marvellous night it had been, Rene clapped a hand on Gabriel's shoulder paternally.

"Gabriel, not many men become daddy and ballet star in one night"

Gabriel smiled as he opened the hospital door, about to reply, when a million light bulbs flashed.


	3. Power Struggles and Prank Calls

RichardIII1955 - Poor Alexei indeed! I feel sorry for him, but at least he becomes a really nice boy when he grows up.

So, Gabriel's a daddy! Will he be better than Angelo? We'll find out soon, but let's skip back over to Verona's Royal family. And guess who else makes an appearance in this chapter?

Also - I don't own Micro or Allegra. They belong to Cornadopia. We agreed on the backstory for them, to fit in with her story and my story.

* * *

"Well, he got what he wanted" stated Mercutio, slapping down the newspaper on the breakfast table.

"Who did?" asked Valentine.

Mercutio grabbed the newspaper and shoved the front page under his elder brother's nose "Gabriel. You remember Gabriel, don't you? Mean, bitchy, blond, spoilt, and one time he spread a rumour about Paris having three nipples"

Paris cringed, and turned red. At the head of the table, Escalus glanced down at his nephew "What does Gabriel have?"

"He just debuted as the lead danseur for Verona's first ever ballet company" said Mercutio "And his ex-girlfriend just reproduced his very first spawn"

"What's it called?" asked Paris, grabbing the paper from Mercutio and Valentine and riffling through it.

"It didn't say" said Mercutio.

"Ah, well, whatever it is, knowing Gabriel, it will be more original than Mercutio II" Paris said snidely.

"I didn't call him that, Allegra did" retorted Mercutio. He turned around to face Mercutio II, sitting up in his high chair, as Allegra fed him some baby food "Say Lady Gaga"

"Gaaaa!" replied Mercutio II.

"See, he said it!" beamed Mercutio.

"He said gaaaa" Paris rolled his eyes.

"Gaaaa is short for Lady Gaga" Mercutio turned back to his son "Oh, I love you, you little monster. Give daddy a kiss, you clever boy. My cute little Micro"

Paris mimed gagging, so Allegra sneakily showed him her middle finger. Paris' eyes nearly popped out of his head. He turned to the adults, who were usually on his side whenever Mercutio started being annoying and loud, but they weren't paying attention. His Uncle Escalus was now reading the newspaper article about Gabriel, and his Aunt Adelaide was frantically mopping Mercutio II (or Micro, as his parents, family and friends called him) up. Paris' parents were not present. His father was busy working, and his mother was also too busy working. He was left, with his insane cousin, his insane cousin's insane girlfriend, and his insane cousin's presumably also insane baby. Sometimes Paris thought he was the only sensible person in the family.

That was what he liked about Helena. She was normal. She was down-to-earth. She could be clingy and somewhat of a worrywart, but Paris liked to feel needed. So far, everyone had claimed he was marrying her for her inheritance, but he wasn't. Hermia had even throttled him against a wall and made him swear not to hurt her. Paris angrily retorted she'd hurt Helena herself more than he ever could. Which, was true.

All Paris and his fiancé wanted was a quiet life. They both liked stability, and they were both able to provide the other with that. Helena had told him some of the scary stories about Demetrius, and Paris, though he could be vain and arrogant, swore to himself he'd never make her feel like that. To him, she was beautiful. Without a doubt, he believed that her face could launch a thousand ships. And how fitting, given that his name was Paris and hers Helena.

"The baby will be in the same year group at school as Micro" said Allegra.

"And a year younger than Eliseo" added Valentine.

"It will, won't it? Good job we're going to stay in Venice when I'm through with my art course. Although Gabriel has redeemed himself somewhat," Mercutio raised his eyebrows "I don't fancy listening to him gossiping at the school gates everyday"

"Then you should have thought about that before you had unprotected intercourse" said Paris.

"You missed out the sexual part" said Mercutio.

"Whatever" said Paris. Allegra glared at him, and fed Micro another spoonful. She would have said something equally cutting, but she enjoyed seeing Mercutio play himself off against Paris. Especially when there were adults around.

"Paris, don't be rude to your cousin" scolded Escalus. Paris looked across the table at Mercutio, who flashed a big, cheesy grin. Micro giggled with laughter, and Allegra smiled at him delightedly. He was quite small for a baby of five months, but that was because he had been several weeks premature. A lot had happened in the time between Anthony's ugly court case with Shylock.

After moving to Venice and taking lessons at La Fenice, Allegra had been offered a role in _Cosi fan Tutte_ for the coming spring, but a few weeks later, discovered she was two months pregnant. She had had to decline the role. Thankfully, Mercutio was ok with his impending fatherhood and vowed to support her. As well as that, Hermia and Benvolio were fine with the idea of having another pram in the hallway, and having another little noise maker running around. Eliseo simply fetched a teddy and dumped it at Allegra's feet with an angelic little smile.

On the contrary, Mercutio's mother, Adelaide, had freaked out and was horrified. Mercutio had just ignored her by shouting 'I'm a DILF' at every opportunity. The young couple remained in Venice for the rest of the year, and by Christmas, when Allegra was in her third trimester and visibly showing, they returned home and spent Christmas with Mercutio's family.

During the Christmas holidays, they walked over to the Capulet Manor to visit the members of Allegra's family who still spoke to her. Tybalt, who was not yet aware of Allegra's pregnancy, almost fainted. Mercutio spent the day tormenting him by telling him all the naughty things he was going to teach the baby to do.

Tybalt was not impressed.

But come New Year's Eve, the Capulets were celebrating together. Foolishly, they allowed Tybalt to ring Tancredo to wish him a happy new year, and, in his drunken state, Tybalt blurted out the news of Allegra's pregnancy.

Tancredo was furious. Whilst Mercutio's mother had been disappointed and anxious, Tancredo blew up into a rage. He screamed abuse down the phone at Allegra, and e-mailed her threats. Before they returned to Venice for university term to begin again, Allegra went into labour, almost six weeks early. At hospital, they pumped her with steroids to help mature the baby's lungs and hormones to stop the contractions, and she was put on bed rest. That lasted a few days, but it seemed the baby had inherited Mercutio's impulsiveness.

On the 11th January, Mercutio II was born. Thankfully, the steroids had done their work, and he was only in Special Care for a week or so. They brought him home by the end of January. Allegra had named him in honour of his father, because of the incredible likeness between them. He had Mercutio's eyes and wild hair, although he was strawberry blond, like Allegra. Yet it was not just his appearance, but there was just something about his spirit that was just so...Mercutio. No other name would have suited him.

They called him Micro to distinguish between the two. Micro, as in, Micro-Mercutio. He even succeeded in Eliseo's failings by vomiting on _both _Tybalt and Rosaline. Mercutio had been so proud.

"So, I wonder what Angelo will say" said Adelaide, finishing with the paper and handing it back to Escalus.

"About being a grandfather, or Gabriel's success?" asked Escalus.

"Both, I suppose" said Adelaide.

"Knowing Angelo, I don't think he will be particularly overjoyed at either piece of news" Escalus sighed "Or maybe he will. I don't know"

"How long has Angelo been Deputy?" asked Paris.

"About five years. Why do you ask?"

"Because shouldn't he be calling an election soon?" asked Paris, trying to curry favour with Escalus by impressing him with his interest in politics.

"Oh. You're right" said Escalus "He should. It seems like only yesterday we were having his electoral victory party. If I remember rightly, that was the first time you kids met Gabriel"

"No, I met him before that. Angelo brought him into work when he was six, and I told him the real reason his mum walked out, was because she had been abducted by aliens, and if he and Angelo weren't careful, they'd be next, which was why Angelo had to bring him into work each day. It was hilarious! He was never the same afterwards!" grinned Mercutio.

Paris shook his head, and turned back to Escalus.

"Do you think Angelo will be elected again?" asked Paris.

"I don't know. He won in a landslide victory five years ago, although he has not done half of the things he promised" replied Escalus.

"Like what?" asked Allegra.

"Like equal marriage, improved opportunities for young people, amendments to the healthcare system, creating a fairer secular society and ending the feud. Although, that was resolved with the Child Swap experiment" said Amparo, breezing into the room. As usual, she was smartly dressed in a suit, and her hair was slicked back into a bun, which showed off her handsome features.

"Amparo! It's nine 'o' clock on a Sunday morning! What are you doing here?" protested Escalus.

"I have been awake since five. Gabriel had me up at the hospital"

"What, did he hit you?" gaped Paris.

"Gabriel, hit someone? He can only do a bitch-slap at best" scoffed Mercutio. He jabbed his finger at the newspaper "And I think it's pretty obvious that he was introducing the baby to her"

"Cleverly observed, Mercutio" replied Amparo "Escalus, I have filed the notes from last week's meeting, and I have sent two e-mails to the Duke of Mantua regarding the situation with the inter-city transport system. Will you be in office soon?"

"It's Sunday" said Escalus.

"Yes, it is. But as you will know, there is work to be done, and, I can't leave it to the last minute"

Amparo left, carrying her papers. The whole family stared at her retreating figure.

"Whoever's going to be Deputy next...it will probably be her" said Allegra.

"She can't be" said Paris smugly "She's in the same party as Angelo. How can she win in a general election against him?"

"Angelo could resign" Mercutio snapped.

"Somehow, I don't that's going to happen. Angelo sacrificed everything to become Deputy. What makes you think he'll give it up so quickly?" asked Paris.

"The fact that no one likes him anymore" grinned Mercutio.

"Boys, stop that. Angelo has plenty of support" Escalus shook his head "We'll have to wait and see"

Micro stared across the table at Paris. Paris glanced back, and then glanced away again. Micro did not look away. Paris glanced back again. Micro continued to stare.

"Make that child stop staring at me!" cried Paris.

"He's not doing anything wrong. He's just looking" retorted Allegra.

"Yeah, he's thinking 'Oh my God, my dad is so sexy, how the hell is that thing over there his cousin?'" said Mercutio.

"He's plotting to kill me" muttered Paris "He has this...this insane evil glint in his eye"

"Paris! Don't be so stupid! He's five months old!" cried Adelaide.

"Yes, Paris, stop upsetting your cousins" Escalus raised his eyebrow "Stop being so ridiculous and immature"

Paris made some sort of protesting noise, but fell silent. When the table was not looking, Micro snatched the spoon from his mother and threw it across the table at Paris.

"Did you see that!" spluttered Paris.

"Clever boy, Micro! Picking up things! You're so smart" cooed Allegra.

"Go to your room if you cannot behave maturely, Paris" sighed Escalus. Shocked, Paris stood up, and stormed out. Micro giggled delightedly, and Mercutio kissed him on the forehead.

"That's my boy!"

* * *

_Meanwhile, in England..._

Richard leant over the edge of the balcony, looking out at the green gardens below. His dark hair waved in the breeze as he tried to push his worries to the back of his mind, but it was difficult. Although he was only eighteen, he felt much older, like he was trusted with more responsibilities than anyone else his age could expect.

He picked at a bandage on his arm, which covered a wound he had received in the latest battle against the Lancasters.

"Richard!" called his older brother Edward.

Edward was the king of England. Well, one of them, to be precise. Both of them were wrapped up in a war with the rival Lancasters for the throne of England. For the past few years, Edward had ruled successfully, until a betrayal and revolt led by who was once a close family friend led to them going on the run. But now, they were back, and they were going to reclaim what was rightfully theirs.

"What is it?" asked Richard, coming away from the balcony.

"We have a letter"

"From who?"

"Prince Escalus, the Prince of Verona"

"Is he sending us an army? Some supplies? Any other form of aid?"

"No, I'm afraid not, Dickon. But we're invited to his nephew's wedding"

Richard sighed. They desperately needed men, arms, aid, anything, and they had been invited to a wedding? It seemed so out of place! They had to defeat the Lancasters, and fast. Richard hated them. They killed his father in battle, and then murdered his brother in cold blood. They'd stolen his one and only love, and spread malicious rumours about him. They called him a deformed hunchback!

"A wedding? Now? Are you sure this an appropriate time for this?"

"Of course it is. It'll be a chance to soak up the sun!"

"And a good time to make alliances with the Italian lords and win them over to our cause" added Richard "Hmm...who else has been invited?"

"King Duncan and his son, Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, and Banquo, from Scotland. King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, and Gertrude's son Prince Hamlet from Denmark"

"Hmm...a good selection. We could make some good alliances there. Denmark has been neutral up until now. Who else?"

"All of the Italian Dukes, Princes, Kings, or whatever they like to call themselves"

"We ought to go. It's too good an opportunity to pass up. We'll attend in person, and leave our supporters in charge of our armies here. Do you think they've invited any of the Lancasters?"

"I don't know" admitted Edward "I'll ring them and find out. Even if they are, I think we ought to attend. Some European assistance would be incredibly beneficial. And if the Lancasters are invited, it's our chance to show everyone who is the better of the two. Italy, here we come"

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire" Richard mused to himself as Edward strolled away to reply to the invite. He was settling down again to leaning against the balcony, when his phone rang.

* * *

_At the same time, back in Italy..._

Mercutio giggled. Just because the wedding hadn't started yet, didn't mean he couldn't have some fun with the guests!

"Hello?"

"Hello, am I speaking to the Duke of Gloucester?"

"Yes, how can I help you?"

"Are you wearing any underwear?"

There was a pause.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said" Mercutio grinned "Are you wearing any underwear?"

"Who is this?"

"Count Paris, Prince Escalus' nephew" lied Mercutio.

"You do know this an inappropriate thing to do" said Richard crossly.

"Well, you're a boring poohead!" insulted Mercutio.

"I'm a what?" gaped Richard. He hadn't been called a 'poohead' in years. The last time had probably been following a squabble between him and his brother George, the Duke of Clarence. When he was eight. Then they had progressed to swearing.

"You're a boring poohead!" repeated Mercutio.

"Mercutio, what on earth are you doing?" cried Valentine.

"See you later, poohead!" Mercutio slammed the phone down "Nothing"

"Who were you calling?"

"No one" Mercutio tried to hide his giggles.

"You were prank calling the guests, weren't you?"

"No, why would I do such a naughty bad thing?" Mercutio blinked innocently. Valentine knew his irritating little brother all too well, and marched over. He grabbed the phone and looked at the call history.

"Mercutio!" he yelled.

"Bye!" Mercutio rushed out of the room. Valentine sighed. Escalus and Paris were going to have a hard time trying to keep Mercutio on his best behaviour for this wedding...


	4. Grandpa Angelo

Cornadopia - Thanks! I'm glad everything involving Allegra and Micro was ok and fitted! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

RichardIII1955 - Yeah, poor Richard! No one is safe from Mercutio, not even his own friends!

Teehee, Mercutio is such a pest! I feel bad for the guests already. Today, we're switching back to what Gabriel's up to. How will Angelo take the news that he is a grandpapa? And what about Uncle Tibby?

* * *

For as long as he could remember, Angelo slept like a log. His head would hit the pillow, and he would be off. His mother amusingly recalled that he had never grown out of his teenage sleeping pattern. There was only the occasional night when he simply could not nod off to sleep, and those only occurred on various dates of the calendar. But it was nowhere near them, and he couldn't understand why he kept waking up and having to go to the bathroom.

It was three am. Angelo had gone to bed at half ten, and he had already been twice. Twice! He had an important meeting tomorrow with his party, about the upcoming general election, and how was he supposed to concentrate if he didn't get any sleep?

He knew it was probably his age. He was nearly forty seven. These things happened. But it was starting to get pretty annoying...

"Wakey wakey!" shrieked a familiar high-pitched voice.

Angelo groaned and looked up. The person he hated and loved the most in all the world was standing on the end of his bed, bouncing up and down delightedly.

"Gabriel, get out! It's too early! And stop jumping on the bed! Shouldn't you be at rehearsal, or whatever stupid thing you and your ballerina friends do these days?"

"I've got paternity leave" Gabriel beamed.

"Paternity leave?"

"Yes! You're a granddad, Angelo. How do you feel? Old? Wrinkly?"

Angelo frowned "I thought you said you couldn't take paternity leave?"

"I'm just taking this morning rehearsal off, and I'm still performing in the evening. And anyway, I just told you that you've got a grandchild, and you only care that I'm bunking off morning rehearsal?"

"It is six am" growled Angelo "I want a cup of coffee"

Gabriel's face fell, and he clamoured across the bed to sit next to Angelo "Don't you even want to know the name?"

"Oh, it's probably Serafina Madonna Odette Trixibelle"

"It's a boy, actually" Gabriel scowled.

"What's _his_ name, then?"

"Alexei" Gabriel announced proudly "Alexei Fulgencio. He weighed six pounds and two ounces. And he's downstairs, waiting to meet you"

"What?" gaped Angelo "In the house? Now? I've got a meeting today! It's about the election and I don't have time-"

"Oh, sod your meeting!" Gabriel grabbed the spare pillow and hit Angelo with it "It's six am, and you don't start work until nine am. Come on, get up! I invited Tybalt and Rosaline around as well, they're in the living room"

"You got _Tybalt_ out of bed before eight? And I'm not dressed!" protested Angelo.

Gabriel shrugged, and climbed over Angelo to exit the room. Angelo just opened his mouth and shook his head, before climbing out of bed, and hurrying to the bathroom to make himself presentable. Once he was washed and dressed, he hurried downstairs to the living room. Tybalt was snoring in an armchair, and Rosaline was holding the baby. From what he could make out, he could see a pink little face with blond hair swaddled in blue blankets.

"There he is!" declared Gabriel. He scooped up Alexei and shoved him into Angelo's arms "Say hello to grandpa"

Angelo gazed down at his first grandchild and simply did not know what to feel.

Happy? Sad? Nostalgic? Old?

"He is going to be such a looker when he grows up" bragged Gabriel "I mean, just look at those eyes, he-"

"Gabriel. Shut up" groaned Tybalt from where he slumped, half-asleep.

"Why?"

"Because the baby looks like you. You're just complimenting yourself. As usual" replied Tybalt.

"Nothing wrong with self-confidence and self-believe, brother dearest" retorted Gabriel.

"Both of you, be quiet!" commanded Rosaline. Angelo rocked the baby, who looked up at him with familiar blue eyes. The baby was the spitting image of Gabriel, and Angelo prayed that with any luck, his appearance was the only thing he had inherited from his freaky father.

"And anyway Tybalt, is your mother going to have another baby with your dad now he's out of jail? Because the thought of another you makes me want to hurl" taunted Gabriel.

"She's not. She's pre-menopausal"

"Urgh, Tybalt, I don't want to know!" Rosaline snapped.

"Oh, that's a relief. Because it would also be a bit weird to have like, twenty years between you and your little brother or sister" added Gabriel.

"There's ten years between Anthony Montague and his sister Isabella, and eighteen years between Lord Montague and Isabella" retorted Tybalt.

"Oh, yes, she's Amparo's friend"

"Are you about to embark on one of your 'Amparo this, Amparo that' lectures?" asked Rosaline. Angelo sniggered.

"Or how about 'Rene this, Rene that?'" asked Tybalt.

"Who's Rene?" asked Angelo.

Gabriel just looked at him "My dance teacher, stupid. He's taught me since I was like, eleven"

"Oh, whatever, I'm not interested in your stupid dancing career"

"Oh, that's good, because I'm not interested in your crappy politics career!" retorted Gabriel.

Angelo just rolled his eyes "Whatever. How's Rose, then? Is she all right?"

"You mean the Child-Abandoning Bitch?"

"Gabriel!"

"She is" shrugged Gabriel "She doesn't want to parent a child with me, and she doesn't like the fact he looks like me, so she's just abandoned him on me! Not that I'm complaining, of course. I have enough love for two parents"

Angelo shook his head "It's easier said than done. You were the most intolerable, insufferable brat any parent could have raised. And you won't get any rights. Courts always favour the mother"

"She's signed them over" said Gabriel.

"Already?"

"Yeah. He's all mine. I'm all he has. If she wants him back, she has to hire a lawyer, and they don't come cheap. I could get one easily"

"And who's money would you use, Gabriel?" sighed Angelo.

"Well..."

"Exactly" Angelo said firmly "And you've got a lot of costs coming up as well, haven't you? Nappies, childcare, speaking of which, who is looking after Alexei this evening?"

"Um...I was going to ask Rene and Silvio if I could leave him backstage and one of the technicians could check on him every five minute"

"Are you stupid?" exclaimed Angelo "You can't leave a baby backstage! You have all that loud music and those flashing lights and ballerinas running around. It's not safe!"

"So what do you suggest I do, then? Didn't you use to leave me in your office for hours on end whilst you had meetings?"

"That was different. You were six, and you had Mercutio and Paris to play with if you got lonely"

"I was scared of Mercutio! He used to tell me my mum had been abducted by aliens and that was why I had to stay in your office, in case they came after me!"

Tybalt scoffed "Mercutio is about as scary as a fluffy bunny"

"What about when he wore skin tight leopard print leggings, a pink feather boa and red lipstick?" asked Rosaline.

Tybalt shrugged "Maybe"

"And where is mum, anyway?" demanded Gabriel "I need to tell her about Alexei. I want her address. And you have to give it to me. I'm nineteen now, and I have a right to contact with my own mother"

"She hasn't bothered contacting you for fourteen years. I wouldn't bother" grumbled Angelo.

"Well, I want to" glowered Gabriel. Angelo passed Alexei back to him, and then brushed off strands of wool from the blanket.

"You should take all those blankets off of him. It's the middle of June. He must be hot" instructed Angelo.

"I knitted that blanket"

"Yes, why don't you give it to him at Christmas? Because if I'm hot in a suit, then he's hot in three layers. You need to wise up, Gabriel, and use your common sense"

Gabriel unwrapped the blanket around Alexei, and took off the little cardigan he had also made for him. Alexei mewed as Gabriel fumbled around.

"Be careful, you're about to drop him, you idiot!" yelled Angelo.

"No, I'm not!" snapped Gabriel "He's fine. See? I was holding him all the while"

"God help the poor little sod" muttered Tybalt.

"Whatever, Tybalt! You couldn't even take care of a goldfish" Gabriel sniped.

"No, that's what Rosaline is for"

"I beg your pardon?" frowned Rosaline.

"Nothing, Ros" mumbled Tybalt.

"I should think so, too" said Rosaline. She suddenly sniffed "Oh, God, what is that smell?"

Tybalt retched "Urgh, it reeks!"

Angelo sniffed "That baby needs his nappy changed. Gabriel!"

"Yes?"

"Change his nappy, for God's sake!"

"I'm about to!" snapped Gabriel "And anyway, it could just be Tybalt's breath. There's no need to jump to conclusions"

Angelo frowned "You have brought nappies, haven't you?"

"Of course I have!"

"Don't tell me he hasn't" groaned Tybalt.

"They're here" Gabriel reached under the pram, and shoved them under Tybalt's nose "See? I am prepared"

"Good. Now go and do it. And not in here, or any of the other rooms in my house. Go and do it in your old bedroom, because I refuse to smell baby poop in my house for the rest of the day"

Gabriel grabbed the changing bag and nappies, grabbed Alexei, and stormed from the room. He stomped up the stairs and barged into his old room. Alexei started to cry, and so Gabriel hurriedly began to change his nappy. He'd managed to find a way to tolerate doing it. He'd hold his breath for as long as possible, and only breathe out, rather than in, and he'd only touch the edges of the nappy. And he did it really quickly. As soon as that nappy was off, he shoved it straight into a bag and in the bin. Then he could breathe again.

Alexei continued to howl.

"There, there, it's off, see? No more disgusting nappy. We'll show stupid Angelo, won't we?"

Gabriel shoved on a clean nappy, and put Alexei's sleeping suit back on. He picked him up and rocked him, expecting him to stop crying. But he didn't. Gabriel was shocked. Alexei had been so quiet when he first held him. Gabriel had thought he was going to be an 'easy baby' as some parents had described.

"The nappy is off, why are you crying? I gave you a bottle just now, you can't be hungry"

Alexei sobbed mournfully.

"I know, I know" murmured Gabriel, gently rocking him. He stood up, and walked slowly around his room, remembering the boy he used to be. Angelo had given him this one room in the house, with a walk in wardrobe, and an en suite bathroom, when he was engaged for the third time. He'd told the then thirteen year old Gabriel that he could do whatever he wanted with it. He probably thought his son would leave socks lying around, and stick up posters of football teams, or leave cups and plates littered around the room.

Thirteen year old Gabriel did none of that. He decided on a black and white theme, with silver to set a modern edge. His furniture co-ordinated perfectly. He had settled on creating his bedroom as an expression of his personality, and it was just that.

Most of his possessions and decor were long gone from the room. There were now empty shelves, which had once held all of Gabriel's dance medals and certificates. There had been pictures too, of his dance shows, his class, and many more. Dance wasn't the only hobby that he had achieved medals in. There had been music certificates, horse riding certificates, and several foreign language certificates. As of the present, Gabriel spoke fluent French, fluent German, almost fluent Spanish, a little Hebrew, some Latin, and he had began to learn English.

Gabriel had also stuck up posters of his favourite singers and bands. They were all incredibly diverse, and ranged from the likes of pop divas, singer-songwriters, to metal bands. Gabriel walked past them, holding Alexei in his arms.

"I used to have a poster here of my favourite band. Back in 2009, they were playing in Milan. I was supposed to be in school that day, but I bunked off with my best friends at the time, Juno, Ceres and Iris, and we caught the train. We all got ready on the train. The conductor passed us the first time and we looked like school boys, then he passed us an hour later and thought we were four different people!"

Alexei's cries slowly faded away, and so Gabriel kept talking.

"We got to the arena, and it was amazing. It was so awesome. They did all my favourite songs. We turned our phones off, and when we came out, I had like, fifty missed calls from Angelo, demanding to know where I was. I gave him the fright of his life! Poor man. Juno, Ceres and Iris' parents were all just as mad, especially as they soon discovered I had talked them into it. And Angelo was furious, because he found out I'd stolen his money to pay for all of our tickets and train fares. Plus he hated my outfit"

Alexei finished crying, and lay sleeping peacefully in Gabriel's arms. He sighed, relieved. He turned around, to find Angelo standing in the doorway.

"I'm off to work" he said simply.

"Ok. Have fun" replied Gabriel.

"Look, um..." Angelo began to say.

"Yes?"

"You're doing an ok job with him. I can see you love him. You just need to..."

"I need to do what?"

"Just wise up, ok?"

"Ok" said Gabriel, unsure of what Angelo meant. Angelo stepped forwards, and gently touched Alexei's fair hair.

"If you need me to, I can look after him for you. Just not every night. I have my own commitments, you know"

"I know"

Angelo gently stroked Alexei's cheek "If I were you, I'd get a nanny. Day care is so dodgy, and it would be easier for him if there were less people rushing around"

"I know that. I am familiar with the works of John Bowlby. I got an A* for psychology"

Angelo sighed and shook his head "You're so clever. You could have done so much. But what are you? A ballerina"

"Oh, leave it out, Angelo! I'm sick of having this argument with you! I am a ballet dancer, and that is final! In fact, I am currently the best ballet dancer Verona actually has. You may as well get used to it, because as Deputy, we'll be seeing a lot more of each other"

Angelo shook his head "A pity"

"Just because I followed my heart and my dreams instead of suppressing them to be what the rest of the world thought I should be doesn't make me a pity!" shouted Gabriel, covering Alexei's ears.

"Stop arguing!" Rosaline stormed along the hallway "You'll wake that poor baby. I wish you would stop arguing. It's pathetic. Neither of you will ever get anywhere"

"I'm going to work" grumbled Angelo "Make you sure you all lock up if you leave. No wild college parties"

"As if I would! There's no time for that anymore. This second year at university has almost killed me" complained Rosaline.

"Oooh, that sounds like such fun! Stupid boring work for three years, getting in debt, and not even being able to go out because you've got work to do! And that's what Angelo wants me to be doing" Gabriel snapped. He stormed past, grabbing Alexei's changing bag as he left. Tybalt was snoring on the sofa again. Gabriel stuck Alexei back in his pram, slung his changing bag over his shoulder, and headed back home, seething.

But, to be honest, Gabriel felt more pity for Angelo than anything. His whole life had been spent, wasting his time on energies on rising up the slippery slope to the top. Angelo was the one who'd be miserable, not Gabriel. Gabriel had his dream job, and he was going to be a better father than Angelo by miles.

He reached outside of his and Amparo's apartment. Her car was still in the driveway, so she hadn't left for work yet. She'd gone into work yesterday, on Sunday, so she could have an extra hour each day of the week to come home to Gabriel and Alexei.

Gabriel lifted the pram up the stairs to the first floor. Not many people knew Gabriel was strong. They took one look at how skinny he was and glazed over him, assuming he was weak. He opened the door, and pushed the pram in.

"Good morning. How did it go with Angelo?" asked Amparo.

"It sucked" sulked Gabriel, slumping on the sofa "He hadn't even found out whether Alexei was a boy or a girl before he accused me of giving him a stupid name"

"Alexei is a lovely name and it suits him"

"No, he assumed he was a girl and said I'd called him Trixibelle Odette or something. As if I would!"

"Foolish man" Amparo sighed. She bent over Alexei's pram "He's fast asleep, bless him. What a beautiful boy he is"

"He's adorable" agreed Gabriel "Amparo, when I hold him, do I have that special glow that Benvolio has when he holds Eliseo?"

"Yes. And it's even brighter, because you are all Alexei has in this world. You are his world"

Gabriel glowed "When are you off?"

"Oh, not until half past eight. I thought I'd wait and see if you got back, and then if you needed me to take care of him this evening. I know you wanted me to come and see you dance one night, but this night I think little one needs me"

"You'd do that?"

"Yes. It would be lovely to bond with him. When my sister Santana had her first, I almost envied seeing her baby cuddled up on her chest like that"

"Thank you" said Gabriel "Angelo said I should get a nanny"

Amparo shook her head "We'll talk about that later. I know you can't get paternity leave, and I know that I'm not entitled to maternity leave unless I adopted Alexei or something, but I know you wanted to keep Alexei's care strictly within the family"

"Yeah" Gabriel nodded sadly, but then he looked at Amparo "He was mean, Amparo"

"I know, I know" Amparo sat down on the sofa, and let Gabriel crawl into her arms. Gabriel breathed in the warm scent of her perfume, and then they drew apart. Amparo wiped away his tears "We'll talk later, ok? You can tell me all about it and I'll think of a way to deal with him, right?"

Gabriel nodded, and then went to Alexei. He picked him up, and then laid him in the crib in the room he had decorated for him. He bade goodbye to Amparo, and then spent his morning changing nappies, and soothing Alexei when he cried.


	5. Political Plots

RichardIII1955 - Thanks!

Oh, well that went badly! So, what are Gabriel and Amparo going to do about Angelo? You'll find out today! Sorry for the bombardment of Gabriel-focussed chapters. It's just he's fundamental to the development of the plot at this point. I'll move onto some Rosaline-focussed chapters and some Mercutio, Amparo, and Angelo-focussed chapters soon enough.

* * *

How Amparo hated to see Gabriel upset! The blond boy who had whirled into her life was always full of enthusiasm, always eager to try new things, and incredibly passionate. She had never met anyone so tender, so trusting. It made her heart ache to see him in anguish. Many people would describe Gabriel as a bitchy little brat, but there was only one person who had made Gabriel a bitchy little brat.

And that was Angelo. Amparo watched him slide into the meeting, charm and charisma oozing from his fingertips. Everybody just seemed to, well, gravitate towards him. He could make a woman flutter with a few words, and they were in his pocket.

But not Amparo. No, Amparo had never fallen prey to the charms of a man. Not even Angelo. He'd tried it on with her, once. When he realised that she was becoming almost as powerful as he was, and therefore, a threat. Amparo had merely smirked, as if to allow him to think he was winning the game, before whispering 'Sorry, Angelo, I prefer younger men' in his ear and gliding away. A year later, she was dating his son.

Today, they were discussing the campaign for the upcoming election. Most of the party was worried. Scarcely any of the promises they had made at the beginning of their term had been met. The public weren't impressed. The economy had been unstable, but there had been little they could do, since it was a global recession and Verona was only a small city state. The health care system was in chaos. Half of Verona wanted private health care, and the other wanted free health care. The benefits system was corrupt. People could claim money from the state simply by having babies, and the middle classes were sick of it. The only good thing that had come out of their term was that the feud was finished, and even then, they weren't responsible. Escalus had ended the feud by making the children from each family go and live with the other's parents.

Amparo had actually enjoyed watching it. It had been a very interesting character study on each of the teenagers, although, Gabriel had not enjoyed a particularly positive role.

"For our campaign for this election, we need to remind people of what we _have_ done" repeated Clive, for the hundredth time "What about leaflets? With quick, snappy sentences, like, uh, 50 per cent more trains on time, or, um, several hundred more policemen patrolling the streets?"

"Except we don't have either of those things" added Amparo, drawing some snickers from the rest of the room. She had never quite forgiven Clive for when he was supposed to go to Mantua to take care of some business, and she had been sent instead, causing her to lose contact with Gabriel during his time of need. He'd gone homeless, and she hadn't been there to look after him!

"Well, what do we have, Amparo?" mocked Angelo. He had never quite forgiven her for beginning a relationship with his son.

"Well, we have improved intercity travel and intercity business links with the other city states, and the visit from the Duke of Mantua went perfectly last time he was here. Even if Mercutio did wear a purple jumpsuit and balance profiteroles on his forehead"

There were some sighs. Mercutio, Escalus' nephew, was well-known for his ridiculous antics. It made them resent the fact that they had to work in the palace, whilst Mercutio lived in the palace at the same time. Gabriel had told Amparo about all the times after his mother had left, and Angelo had brought him with him to get some work done, how Mercutio would terrify him with stories of how she had been abducted by aliens and that he was the next victim. It didn't surprise Amparo why Gabriel was so bitchy to people.

"For goodness sake" Angelo rolled his eyes "For all his faults, my son would never do that"

"No, because he'd ruin his hair!" Ralph, another senior member of the party added. Angelo openly laughed and Amparo frowned.

"Could we get back on topic, please?" said Amparo curtly. Angelo shot her a look of contempt, but she simply ignored him.

"I myself feel that we need to re-establish links with our allies and supporters" she began "And what better chance have we got than beginning with the wedding? Do you remember that the support we had from the Capulets in the previous election helped us greatly, and the reason we had no support from the Montagues was because we had support from the Capulets. Without a feud, we can take the chance to get the two powerful families on our side. It should be easy to gain the Capulets support – your daughter married one, Angelo, and as for the Montagues, I'm friends with Isabella, I can easily persuade them to support our cause. We have intercity support from Mantua and Padua and many other local cities. They can put pressure on the citizens of Verona to vote for us. Then, of course, one we have the powerful families on our side and external support from said cities, we can hopefully regain our favour with the rest of Verona. We can explain that the reason we have not done all that we pledged because we need more time, that what we have done so far is simply work in progress, and if they vote for us, then we can do it"

Most of the younger members of the party smiled and nodded. The older men gave curt nods. Angelo simply raised his eyebrows. Amparo knew that there was nothing wrong with her suggestions – fact, they were incredibly right, but he held a grudge against her. The members of the party who were firm supporters of Angelo shook their heads at her.

"The Montagues are conservative" retorted Angelo "They'll never support us"

"That may be so" replied Amparo "But there are other ways to win people over, rather than change our aims simply to please them. There are certain types of favours"

"Oh, so what's my son been doing for you to get a free meal ticket?"

Angelo's supporters laughed. Amparo did not blush easily, but she felt warmth climbing up the sides of her neck.

"I don't think that's appropriate conversation when we are discussing how to win the election. If we want to win, we need to start campaigning now. And fast. And you need to stop being so immature"

Angelo snorted. He hesitated. Amparo looked at him coldly. He suddenly glanced down.

"If you'll excuse me, I think we need to call a break"

"We've only been working half an hour" said Clive.

"Well, I have to use the bathroom"

"Is it really necessary to tell us that?" asked Amparo. Her supporters laughed. Angelo did not respond, but rushed out of the room. Amparo reclined back into her chair, plotting how to get rid of that fool for once and for all.

* * *

"How was he? Was he ok? Did he cry much?" asked Gabriel, the moment he stepped through the door.

"No, not much at all"

Gabriel sighed with relief, and then dumped his bag with his dance gear on the armchair. He sank onto the sofa "My feet are on fire"

"I'll bet" remarked Amparo "Remember the first time you took your shoes off and I saw your feet?"

"You were horrified!" giggled Gabriel "You said I had worse feet than your grandmother"

"You still do" Amparo sank down on the floor in front of him and playfully unravelled his shoelace. Gabriel smiled, but then Alexei cried out.

"I'll go. I missed him so much. I feel like a new mum"

"You're a new dad!"

"Yes, but I feel maternal, not paternal" explained Gabriel, hurrying into Alexei's room. He came out cradling him in his arms "I suppose it's because the Child-Abandoning Bitch didn't want him that I feel like I've taken over being the mum"

"Are you going to call her that forever?" asked Amparo.

"Yeah" shrugged Gabriel.

"Even though your own mother left you?"

Gabriel froze "She didn't leave me. She left Angelo. She would have taken me, she just didn't have...Angelo had more money, he would have sued. She'd have come back for me, I know it, but Angelo must have stopped her"

He gently stroked Alexei's fair hair, looking pained.

"I hate your father" said Amparo, finally saying the words she had hinted for so long.

Gabriel looked pleased "So do I. He never cared about me. All he cares about his stupid career. He only likes having people suck up to him and being a control freak. He doesn't deserve to be Deputy"

_'Bingo!'_ thought Amparo _'I've got him, he's going to go along with my plan. This is going to work, I know it, he's going to tell me everything...'_

"I completely agree" said Amparo "He was very rude to me today. We were discussing our electoral campaign, and he made jokes about you and our relationship in front of the whole party"

Gabriel gasped "He did? The bastard! He doesn't deserve to be Deputy, somebody should just ruin his career and teach him a lesson"

"He doesn't care about the members of his party either" added Amparo "Everybody else tried to talk to him but he ignored us, and made snarky comments about us"

"What a pig" said Gabriel, stroking Alexei "We could ruin his career, get everyone to hate him, so that he's all on his own in that mansion, with no friends, no family, no job. All he'll have is his money. And then we'll see how he likes it!"

Amparo laughed "And how do you propose to do that?"

"We could...spread some rumours!" Gabriel's dark blue eyes glinted delightedly. It had been ages since he'd engaged in his old bitchy pastimes. He knew he'd grown up since then, and become a better person, but it just felt so damn good. And besides, this time, Angelo deserved it. This wasn't bitching – it was karma.

"About what?" asked Amparo.

"Oh, I don't know" shrugged Gabriel "He's bi and he's in the closet?"

"He's bi?" Amparo gaped.

"I thought you knew" replied Gabriel.

"I didn't!"

"Really? Well, he is! When he was sixteen or seventeen, he feel in love with this guy, but neither of their parents approved, so they ran away and tried to kill themselves. Angelo survived, but the other guy died. He told me when I was fifteen, when he was trying to persuade me not to be a ballerina. He's such a hypocrite" Gabriel went on, the gossip pouring from his mouth "He calls me a fag for dancing around with girls in skin tight clothes when he's bi?"

"He's always such a flirt with the ladies at work" added Amparo, disbelievingly.

"I know. He prefers women, he feels more confident flirting with and being with them. He flirts with them all to make himself feel more...more...secure about his masculinity, if you know what I mean"

"Yes, I know" nodded Amparo "Do your sisters know about this?"

"I think Rosaline knows. Livia probably doesn't care. Livia doesn't want anything to do with him. She's polite to him if she sees him, but she doesn't care. She still hasn't forgiven him for throwing her mother out"

Amparo nodded again, listening to Angelo's secrets.

"And he's so cruel to animals" Gabriel continued "You know my cat Snooky? He once kicked her! He's fucking evil!"

"He kicked a cat? A poor defenceless cat? That's terrible!"

"He said he thinks vegetarians and animal rights activists are stupid. To my face!"

"That's so mean" Amparo shook her head.

"I know, right?" Gabriel took a breath, and held Alexei tighter "He won't give me mum's contact details. He won't let me contact her, not even to tell her about Alexei. Her own grandson!"

"Why don't you search for her on Facebook?" asked Amparo.

"I've tried" Gabriel sighed "I just don't know if she still has Fulgencio as her surname, or if she went back to using Cliffs. Or if she's remarried and had more children, and therefore has a different surname. I know her name was Lina"

"That's pretty. You must have got your looks from her"

Gabriel glowed with pleasure "Oh, I did. She had my hair, and my eyes, and facial shape and structure. I've seen many of Angelo's girlfriends, Rosaline and Livia's mother, and his ex fiancé, but none of them were quite as beautiful as her"

"Ex fiancé?" asked Amparo.

"Oh, yeah" nodded Gabriel "When I was thirteen, before the election, he got engaged again for the third time. Some woman called Mariana. It didn't work. I didn't like her, so I drove her out"

"I don't recall him ever being engaged. I would have been twenty six, twenty seven, and rising through the ranks. I don't ever remember a woman called Mariana"

"It was pretty quiet" Gabriel explained "You see, you know how your party stands for centre-left politics?"

"Yes, I do" nodded Amparo.

"You know how this means you are liberal?"

"Yes, I do"

Gabriel tucked a strand of blond hair behind his ear "Angelo has always had trouble trying to make sure that religious and other conservative organizations supported him. He was probably trying to marry a woman, even though she would be his third wife, so that they would support him. So that if rumours ever came about, he could say, oh, look, I've got a wife and kids. He's such a liar and a hypocrite"

Gabriel looked pleased with himself.

"You really have him sussed out" said Amparo softly. She stood up, drawing herself to her full height. She was taller than Gabriel. Gabriel could only reach her height if he wore heels. Gabriel looked up at her admiringly.

"I would never lie to the people like that. My personal life is my personal business, but I would always tell the truth when asked. I would support rights for same-sex couples and I wouldn't be afraid to enact on giving them these rights in fear of antagonizing conservative groups. I would separate the state and the church. I wouldn't hold back"

"You'd be a much better Deputy than Angelo any day of the week"

Finally, Gabriel had said it. Amparo smiled.

"The only way I can do that is if I get him out of the way" said Amparo. Her dark brown eyes met his dark blue eyes "If I get Angelo out of the party, I can become Deputy. I will have achieved my life's dream, and you will have your revenge. Will you help me?"

"You know I will" Gabriel smirked. Alexei snuffled, as if he too agreed with his father and step-mother.

"Good" Amparo smiled.


	6. Amparo Sows Seeds

Cornadopia - Thanks! Funnily enough Gabriel hires a babysitter in this chapter!

RichardIII1955 - Thanks!

Watch out, Angelo! Your jerkiness might have finally just caught up with you! So, what will Amparo do? Meanwhile, Gabriel hires the Nurse, and Juliet talks about politics.

* * *

And with that, the plan was put into action.

Gabriel told Amparo everything. He gave her his family tree, which had been compiled by Rosaline, who had always been interested in genealogy. Amparo hadn't known Gabriel's great-grandfather had been a Nazi. She hadn't known that Gabriel had a scar under his ear where Angelo had once slapped him across the face.

It shocked her, to be honest. Amparo had always gotten along with her father. She'd had a good upbringing. Her father was Spanish, hence her Spanish surname, and her mother was Italian. She'd been born and educated in Italy, but had spent considerable portions of her childhood in Madrid, where her father's family lived. Consequently, she could speak both Spanish and Italian fluently, and held dual citizenship, which had allowed her to begin her political career in Verona. She had two younger sisters, who she also got along well with. Her sister Elvira was a field researcher and a scientific journalist, and her youngest sister Santana was a doctor, and the only other member of her family to live in Verona, with her husband and young daughter. Amparo had almost gone into science herself, as medicine simply fascinated her, but she had decided to enter politics, due to her natural warm charisma and the fact that she was unhappy with the political and economic interferences with people's private health issues. Her parents had always encouraged her and her sisters to pursue their dreams, no matter what they had wanted. In fact, even when Elvira announced she wanted to be a model, her parents had been supportive. Granted, she had been five when she said that, it was still supportive of them. They had never minded how they looked, either – even though Santana was the prettiest, and Elvira was plain, and Amparo was handsome at best.

"I didn't know Eliseo was walking already" remarked Amparo, as she and Isabella Montague sat on a bench, looking out onto the courtyard of Montague Ranch.

"Yes, he is" replied Isabella, watching her nephew Benvolio scoop him up and praise him. Eliseo laughed with joy "He's about one and a half now. Ben says he takes after Hermia, who was walking and talking as soon as possible"

A half-smile made the corners of Amparo's mouth turn up "I might have known"

Isabella was the youngest daughter of the previous Lord Montague. She was eighteen years younger than her eldest brother, and ten years younger than Anthony. She was around the same age as Amparo. It was quite a large age-gap between the siblings, and Isabella had explained that the previous Lord and Lady Montague had had fertility issues. Or something of that manner.

"She's been good for him" remarked Isabella "No thanks to your Gabriel"

"Gabriel was fifteen, and vulnerable. He didn't understand the full extent of what he was doing. And he has matured and apologized. No thanks to Angelo"

"Which I suppose brings us onto what you came here to talk about" said Isabella. Both the women stood up, and began to walk down the halls of the Montague Ranch. They continued walking, so that with any luck, no one would hear what they both wished to confide in one another.

"Gabriel has told me Angelo's history. I know almost all there is to know about him" stated Amparo "He provided me with a family tree. The evidence is all there. All we need now is to put the plan in motion"

Isabella nodded "And if it backfires?"

"It won't"

"But suppose it does. What will become of me? Why won't you..."

"Angelo detests me. He wouldn't even try it on with me"

"He tries it on with everyone"

"Exactly. He's tried it before with me, and I blew him off. Now I live with his son. That would never work. Which is why I need you"

"I understand. And if it backfires?"

"It won't" said Amparo firmly.

"But suppose it does. I have my reputation and my beliefs at stake"

"There are two sides to every story. If the plan...does not work, you will stick to your side of the story. You will have supporters. You are a Montague. You will have your family, and they will support you. And I will continue to support your story. But the plan will not backfire. I will make sure it doesn't. Remember, I have so much to gain if it works. Why would I even allow it to backfire?"

"That's true" Isabella nodded.

"Daddy! Look!" shrieked Eliseo.

"What is it, angel?"

"Micro!" squealed Eliseo "Unca Merk-usho!"

"Quick, let's walk. We'll go out on the fields. If Mercutio overhears, it will be a matter of minutes before we're caught"

The women hurried out down the halls and into the fields at the back of the house. The Montague Ranch was a large, sprawling villa, centred around a courtyard with a swimming pool, and with vast amounts of land around the house that had been used to farming. These days, Paulina Montague preferred to grow flowers in some of them, but the large fields remained, mowed occasionally.

Mercutio's loud voice was soon out of earshot. Once they could no longer hear him, they sighed with relief. If they couldn't hear Mercutio, Mercutio couldn't hear them. Mercutio was louder than the average person, and so that was a relief to have those extra meters between them.

"When will we begin?" asked Isabella.

"As soon as possible" replied Amparo "I was in a meeting about our campaign for the next election. Angelo is doing little to nothing to hold onto our government. He's weak. We can strike now while he's got his trousers down"

Isabella giggled at the pun, and swiped Amparo on the arm.

"Seriously, he broke up the meeting to go to toilet! We'd only been working for half an hour!"

"I'll make sure that I catch him alone" said Isabella "I'll make sure we're both seen going into an area where there's security cameras so people will know I was definitely with him. It will be his word against mine"

"And if I can play my cards right, I can make Gabriel hack his phone" added Amparo "He's excellent at hacking into people's computers and phones. And he speaks so many languages. He's surprisingly intelligent in those aspects"

"I suppose it makes sense, since he seems to know everything there is to know about everything"

"And then he'll trick Angelo into saying something unsavoury about someone or something, and so his popularity will start to falter. It is simple. You make the statement, we de-stabilise Angelo"

"Ok" said Isabella "I'm ready. And if this works, and you take his place as Deputy, you will keep your end of the bargain"

"You know I would. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. That is what we agreed"

"I know you're a liberal, Amparo, and I know you have your reasons, but it's not right. It's not natural. I mean, I have nothing against them personally, but it's just against my beliefs"

"Whatever you say, Isabella"

"You had better uphold your side of the bargain"

"Oh, I will" repeated Amparo "Why would I ever make you take such a large risk for nothing in return?"

The Montague Ranch was now almost out of sight. There was nothing but countryside stretching for miles on end. It reminded Amparo of her grandfather's wine yards. He had a villa, a little like this, in the countryside out in Madrid. Her and her sisters had spent several summers out there, relaxing by the pool, watching the workers harvest. Amparo felt the sun beating down on her olive skin. In five months it would be November, and the election would take place. Come Christmas, she could be Deputy. She could be the most powerful woman in Verona, at the age of only thirty four.

"Whenever you are ready" said Isabella, turning so they could begin the long walk back up to Montague Ranch.

* * *

"How many children have you taken care of before?" asked Gabriel. He sat upright on the sofa, wearing a casual silk shirt and black leggings. His feet were bare, and his platinum blond hair was tied back with a piece of black satin. Before him, sat the woman who he was interviewing to be Alexei's nanny.

"Just one" replied Juliet's old nurse "Well, two, if you count Hermia"

"So you haven't had much experience, even though you're really old" said Gabriel.

"That's not true, young man. I've looked after Juliet Capulet like my own daughter, and she's a lovely young lady. And I'll have less of the old!"

"But you are" shrugged Gabriel "Honestly, take it as a compliment, I prefer older women. Young women are stupid foolish bitches. So, how much would you expect me to pay you?"

The front door opened, and Amparo stepped in.

"Hello, darling" she greeted, pressing a kiss to Gabriel.

"This is Amparo, she's my partner" said Gabriel, to the nurse "And Amparo, this is Angelica, Juliet's old nurse. We're talking about childcare for Alexei"

"Excellent. Is everything going ok? Can I get anyone any teas or coffees?"

"We're fine" replied Gabriel "I made some just now" he gestured towards Amparo's Pyrex teacups resting on the coffee table "How was lunch with Isabella?"

"Oh, perfect. She's doing well with her new job up at the Palace. It was nice to catch up without the hassle of everyone rushing around trying to get things done urgently. I saw little Eliseo. He's walking"

"He's been getting into everyone's things up at the Manor" added the nurse.

"Is it the Terrible Two's?" asked Amparo.

"Almost. God help poor Benvolio when that happens. He already gives in to him too much. He can't bear telling him off"

"Typical" Gabriel rolled his eyes "But it's sweet. I wonder what Alexei will be like at that age"

"What were you like?" asked Amparo.

"Naughty" said Gabriel "Very naughty. I used to get into all of my mum's things. Pretty bracelets? Mine!"

"Like our Eliseo. He tried to eat one of Hermia's earrings. I caught him in time before it did any damage"

"Thank goodness for that!" said Amparo "My parents had to sit in A&E all night after my sister Elvira chewed a lead pencil and started throwing up"

"Children" sighed the nurse "I don't know where time went. It seems like only yesterday my Juliet was still toddling around and now she's practically ready to take over as Lady of the house"

"It seems like only yesterday I was the only boy in Rene's ballet class, and now I'm the Danseur Noble of Verona Ballet Company" replied Gabriel "So, Angelica, would you be willing to look after Alexei?"

"I think we've got a deal" said the nurse "So, you want me for morning, half nine until two, and then for evenings, half five until half eleven, or whenever Amparo gets home, which could be anytime after six. Am I right?"

"Yes" replied Gabriel "Amparo will call you. If we are going to be any later then we will let you know and you can set up the spare room and stay over. And I usually get Sundays off. And if I don't, then Rene and Silvio will get slapped around the face"

"And if I don't get home early, your father will get a punch in the face" added Amparo.

Gabriel cackled with laughter "Well, he deserves it" he turned back to the nurse "I hope you don't mind if Amparo's ever late back. She's working ever so hard. She's going to be the best Deputy Verona has ever seen"

"Shush, Gabriel!"

"Oh, I forgot" Gabriel giggled "It's a secret"

"Is Angelo Fulgencio resigning?" asked the nurse.

"No, no, of course not" said Amparo quickly, but casually "I'm just hoping to be a contender for when his time runs out. I'm only thirty four and I've been in politics for thirteen years as part of the party, and I was on several Youth Councils before that. I'm just preparing"

She came to rest behind Gabriel. It seemed as though she had placed a hand on his shoulder, but in reality, she poked him. Alexei wailed from the other room.

"Oh, there he goes. He wants feeding. I'll go and get him" said Gabriel, climbing up "I suppose it's best I introduce you both"

He left and then returned cradling Alexei. Alexei was wearing a little blue sleeping suit which said _'If you think I'm handsome, you should see my daddy' _No doubt Gabriel had dressed him that morning.

"When would you like me to start?" asked the nurse.

"Oh, as soon as possible. Poor Alexei's been staying in my dressing room for the past few days. God help me if I have to put him in day care. Children who don't make secure attachments to their primary caregivers in the first few months of life become demonic attention-seeking brats"

The nurse raised her eyebrows.

* * *

"I can't believe you are going to work for Gabriel Fulgencio" sighed Juliet.

"You're a grown woman now, Juliet. There's not a lot I can do here"

"I know. You've told me this several times. But why him? He's mean"

"He seemed somewhat mature when I spoke to him today" said the nurse "Although he did insult my age"

"See? See what I mean? Don't leave. You can still look after Eliseo"

"Hermia likes to look after Eliseo herself. Sit still. Let me brush that lovely hair of yours whilst I still can"

Juliet obediently sat at her desk, and the nurse began to comb through the long fiery locks.

"I remember, when you were a little girl, how well-behaved you were, and how you let me comb your hair and plate it with little bows...and then Hermia wouldn't let me comb her hair at all. She'd run amok, hide the hair brush and bury any ribbons I tried to put in her hair. Although, I call it hair. I should have said bird's nest"

Juliet giggled, remembering how naughty Hermia had been "And then, when she was eight, she cut it all off with a pair of scissors, and mum and dad freaked out. She looked like a baby punk rocker!"

"But you've always been my good girl"

"I wonder if Alexei will be a good boy for you"

"I'm sure he will. He's a cute little thing. He looks like Gabriel, but he was very sweet and opened his eyes for me. He drank all his milk that Gabriel gave him and went straight to sleep when Gabriel put him down for a rest. I'm sure I will be very happy taking care of a baby again"

"I'll miss you" sighed Juliet.

"I hardly see you anyway. You're either busy with Romeo, or busy at university, or busy managing the household and learning the family business"

"Yes, but if I need a hug, there won't be anyone there. Allegra and Hermia are only staying for the summer, and Aunty Regina is busy at her new Cattery business with her friend Tara, and then Tybalt will go back to Milan with Rosaline, and who wants to hug Rosaline anyway?"

"Well, I'll give you the address so that you know where to come and find me. Although, Amparo was a little fussy about me giving it out. She's preparing to become Deputy, did you know that?"

"No?" gaped Juliet, turning around "Tell me more"

"Gabriel mentioned it. He said she'd be the best Deputy Verona had ever seen and then she told him it was a secret"

"A secret?" Juliet murmured to herself "And there's an election in November, isn't there? It'll be the first time I vote. Is Angelo resigning? After only five years?"

"No, Amparo said she was only thirty four. I don't think Angelo's resigning"

"Either way, I don't think I want to vote for him. I've read some articles online. He made all kinds of promises at the beginning of his term, and he has yet to fulfil half of them. And I've never liked him. He's so...creepy. And a bad dad"

"Who will you vote for, then, my girl?" asked the nurse.

Juliet sighed "I don't know yet. Although, I do like that Amparo, even if she is in a relationship with Gabriel. She's easy to talk to, and she seems more like a woman to get things done"

"You can't vote for Amparo when Angelo's leading the party"

"I know. That's why I don't know who to vote for"


	7. Boo

RichardIII1955 - Thanks! I love little Eliseo - he's so fun to write with! I've got to include him more!

Uh oh! Things are getting sticky! Time to switch back over to what Angelo is up to...and Mercutio's latest antic. Won't he ever grow up?!

* * *

Angelo pressed his knuckles to his lips, standing in the window of his study with his phone in the other hand.

_'Here goes nothing' _he thought to himself, before dialling his doctor's surgery's number.

"Hello, this is Angelo Fulgencio. Could I make an appointment to see my GP?"

"Certainly. What date would you like?"

"Whenever there's an available slot, I can get the time off work"

"Ok, so that will be next Tuesday afternoon, one 'o' clock. Is that ok with you?"

"That's fine. Thank you" said Angelo. He put the phone down, and sighed deeply. It was done. He couldn't back out now. He looked back out the window, at the vast stretch of land. He'd bought this house, and then bought a lot of the land around it so that Gabriel could have a horse, as well as the fact that the area had a special meaning for him. He'd always wanted to live in this house.

After a while, he pulled out his iPhone and then tapped into his planner the date and time. He was truly dreading it, but he was worried. He wished he had a friend who he could talk to about this, but Angelo didn't have many close friends. Oh, he had plenty of acquaintances, plenty of people who'd do favours for him, but not people who would care. And they weren't the sort of people Angelo would want to confide in anyway.

He and his brother had never been close. Iago was two years older than Angelo, and had left the family home as soon as possible, leaving Angelo to play the role of dutiful son, who did his homework, did well at school, and went to university. They were too similar to one another to be friends. Iago could be incredibly manipulative, and Angelo had learnt early on never to let him get to close, or learn your secrets and insecurities.

It wasn't the sort of thing Angelo could confide in his daughters. Livia remained indifferent to him, leaving Rosaline. Angelo was very fond of his oldest daughter, but this was, well, man trouble. It wasn't the sort of thing you could tell your daughter about. And Rosaline was squeamish. She wouldn't want any of the messy details.

It was times like these when Angelo wished he and Gabriel got on. If only Gabriel had been _normal_. Things would have been so much better. Angelo had always wanted a son. When Gabriel had been born, he expected a boisterous robust thing, but Gabriel was small and screamed the whole time. He always preferred his mother over Angelo, but then, Angelo reasoned, he was always so busy working. As he got older, the ambivalence remained the same. When Gabriel was two, and first dressed up in his mother's clothes, Angelo had thought he was funny. When he was three, and started ballet class, Angelo still thought it was funny. By the time Gabriel was five, Angelo was worried. What if he ended up like him? Angelo had done everything in his power to make sure everyone forget about his true self, but what if he had passed it on to his son? What if everyone laughed and ridiculed the poor boy? And so Angelo had done his best to try and make Gabriel normal, but the boy just became weirder and weirder and weirder...

Eventually Angelo sighed. It was no good, this wishful thinking. He'd have to deal with it alone, as always. Gabriel was not going to turn into a confidante overnight.

The next few days passed as if in a dream. Angelo was there, but he wasn't really there. Lord Capulet congratulated him, and Escalus congratulated him, but he'd only ever seen Alexei once. Angelo wondered who Gabriel had arranged to look after him, and wondered how Gabriel was dealing with single fatherhood. Perhaps he'd learn a few lessons. Perhaps he would reach a new level of understanding for him.

At noon on Tuesday, Angelo was arranging the accommodation for the Plantagenets, the royal family of England, for the wedding over the summer. It had been difficult, and tiring, to say the least. They all kept switching sides, and, so-and-so did not want to be near so-and-so, and if so-and-so was allowed to come into contact with so-and-so, then they'd fight. It made Angelo's head hurt. And now, he was suffering the screeches of this latest harpy.

"Yes, your highness, I do understand" he sighed.

"I don't want those usurping Yorkists anywhere near me!" seethed Margaret of Anjou, England's former queen.

"I know, your highness, and you won't be. Your families will be kept completely separate"

"How dare you invite them, and treat them as though they are England's royal family! We are England's royal family! My husband, and my son!"

"Well," said Angelo, but then the door knocked "I'm going to have to leave you, your highness. We'll finish this another day"

He put the phone down.

"Come in" he called, hoping they'd be quick. His appointment was in an hour, and it took twenty minutes to drive during the day, and he didn't want to be delayed.

To his surprise, Isabella Montague stepped in. Angelo knew Isabella. She was a Montague, of course. Everyone knew the Montagues. Unusually for someone as well-connected and rich as she was, she was in her thirties and still unmarried. Gabriel once giggled to Angelo that she was thinking about becoming a nun. She worked with her brother, Lord Montague, and did not generally support his party, or come into contact with him.

"Isabella" said Angelo "How can I help you?"

He sub-consciously glanced at his watch.

"Do you mind if I use your photocopier? Claudio's has completely clapped out"

"Of course" said Angelo, wondering why she would walk all the way up to his office to use his. Amparo's was much closer.

As if reading his thoughts, she said "Amparo has gone out to lunch with Gabriel"

"Oh. Well, I hope they have a nice time" said Angelo indifferently.

"Gabriel would like to see you again, you know"

"Would he?"

"Yeah. He said he wanted to you to see Alexei again. He said he knows you two have never gotten on, but he'd like it if you and Alexei had a relationship"

"Oh" said Angelo "Well. That's very...mature of him, I suppose"

The photocopier whirred into life. Angelo pretended to be getting on with his work, but he felt conscious of Isabella's eyes on him. If he looked at her, she did seem attractive to him. Angelo generally preferred blondes, but she was pretty, with the dark hair and dark eyes of the Montagues, and natural tan. She wore a simple white blouse and a long skirt. It may have covered her up, unlike some of the secretaries, but it defined her curvaceous figure nicely.

They make monotonous small talk. After a while, Angelo glanced at the clock. Time was ticking on. Isabella's sheet had finished photocopying. She was staring at him intently.

"Look, I must be off" said Angelo, getting up, and folding everything away in a briefcase.

"So soon? Where are you going?"

"Dentist" lied Angelo, showing her his teeth.

"You only went last week"

"Yeah, I need treatment. A filling"

"But you said everything was fine. I was there when you came back"

"Well, a fillings not that bad. It's not root canal. I've got to go, or I'll be late, and I want to drop this stuff off at home first. I'll see you around" said Angelo, stepping around her and out of the office. Mercutio leapt out from behind a plant pot.

"BOO!" he yelled. Angelo yelled as well.

"For God's sake, Mercutio!" he snarled "Why are you so bloody immature? Not even Gabriel would do something that stupid!"

"Ooooh!" giggled Mercutio, running off.

Isabella watched him leave, watched the exchange between Mercutio and Angelo, and then left herself. She went in the opposite direction, to Amparo's office. Amparo glanced up, and smiled at her.

"I would like to file a complaint against Angelo Fulgencio"

"For what?"

"You already know"

* * *

At the same time as Angelo made small talk with Isabella, Mercutio tiptoed along the corridor, pretending to be a ninja. He knew all the ways and routes around the palace without ever coming into contact with a security camera. He knew exactly which angle they faced, and how to stay out of them. After jumping through Lord Capulet's door and shouting 'BOO!' and shoving some of Amparo's papers out of the window, he saw Angelo's door was open. Excellent. He could cause some mischief. He heard Angelo and someone else talking, and hid behind a plant pot. He could pretend to be a spy, and listen in on what they were saying.

It was boring. They were talking about work. Mercutio pouted. He had hoped to hear some top secret government details. Boring. Was this really what his Uncle did all day? Mercutio was so bored he thought he was going to hallucinate. But he kept listening, simply for the thrill of possibly being able to jump out at either one of them when they came out.

Hey, wait, was Angelo leaving? Brilliant. Mercutio crouched, ready to pounce.

The door swung open.

"BOO!" yelled Mercutio. Angelo yelled.

"For God's sake, Mercutio!" he snarled "Why are you so bloody immature? Not even Gabriel would do something that stupid!"

"Ooooh!" giggled Mercutio, running off. He grinned to himself as he did so. He turned and looked back as he got to the end of the corridor. Isabella was walking in the direction of Amparo's office, where he had thrown the papers out of the window. Uh oh. They'd catch him. He ran back in the direction of his room.

"Hi, Wally-wegra!" he greeted, bouncing on the bed. Micro squealed delightedly, and reached for him. Mercutio scooped him up for a hug. He ruffled his wild hair.

"Hi, Wooshy-wo. Being crazy, huh?"

"Yep!" said Mercutio proudly.

"What have you done this morning?"

"Well, first I shouted 'BOO!' at your Uncle Egues, then I shoved Amparo's papers out the window - don't tell her, or Gabriel, or anything, and then I hid behind a plant pot outside of Angelo's office and spied on a conversation between him and Romeo's aunt. Then I yelled 'BOO!' at Angelo, and then I realised Isabella was going to Amparo's office, and they were going to discover what I'd done, so I came back here"

"What a good boy, Mercutio!" Allegra praised. Mercutio beamed, and put Micro down on the bed. He started to blow raspberries on Micro's tummy, and his son screamed with joy.

"I don't know why Isabella was up in Angelo's room. She never normally goes near him. She's been spending more time with Amparo lately, but I suppose they're probably talking about dresses for the celebrations and stuff. Hey, All, check out the suit I've had made for Paris' wedding!"

"Oh, the rainbow striped suit and the pink bow tie? I love it, Merc, it's so you!"

"Thanks! I thought we could get Micro a matching sleepy suit or something, or maybe we could just dress him in a baby tiger suit or something for the wedding. What do you think?"

"He'd look so sweet! Shall I wear a matching dress or something?"

"Awesome!" cheered Mercutio "I can't wait until all the guests get here. I've organized an exhibition of all my artwork from last year. You know, the animal surrealism ones, with Tybalt's head on a cat body and then the nudist ones, like Benvolio in the shower"

"Hehehe, poor Ben" snickered Allegra "He will kill you, you know!"

"Meh, I better live life to the full then! Want to prank call the Thane of Glamis?"


	8. Angelo's In Trouble

RichardIII1955 - Thanks again! I figured she would...teehee...let's see her spar against Mercutio!

Uh oh, Angelo's in trouble! But will Mercutio be of any help further down the line? Let's see...

* * *

Angelo limped up the pathway and into his house. He headed straight for the sofa and sagged down, with a whimper of pain. There was still time for him to go back to work, and still time for him to get a lot of things done, but he couldn't face it. He pulled a cushion over, and buried his face into it. His cheeks still burned red with humiliation. Tears of rage and frustration welled behind his eyelids.

He felt so violated. Why did he feel violated? They were doctors, they were only doing their jobs. He had consented to the examination. He needed to know what was wrong with him. Maybe they just didn't know how it felt to lay on the examination table, vulnerable and bare, as though they were merely an object.

But it wasn't over yet. They wanted to do a biopsy.

He winced in pain at just the thought, and curled up.

* * *

"Angelo!" called Escalus.

"Yes?"

"Could I have a word?"

"Sure"

Angelo sat down in Escalus' office.

"I just wanted to talk about the wedding and such" explained Escalus.

"Go ahead"

"Now, I've decided that Mercutio is old enough to take part in royal duties"

"Old enough, yes, mature enough, I don't think so"

"Well, I've found a job that I think might suit him" Escalus said.

"Ok" said Angelo.

"I've put him in charge of entertaining the guests whilst they stay" explained Escalus.

"Ok" Angelo repeated.

"He's been having some good ideas, although I did have to explain to him that a 'Bouncy Castle Day' was not one of them"

"I don't think any of them would like that"

"Exactly. So I've made him change it" said Escalus "But, anyway, I'm going to be so busy greeting and organising everything, that I can't be in four different places at once. I can't supervise Mercutio twenty four seven. So, I was just wondering if..."

"If what?" asked Angelo.

"If you could?"

"If could do what?"

"Control Mercutio"

"Control Mercutio?" repeated Angelo "Let me get this straight. You want me to control your mad, crazy, insane, uncontrollable, borderline schizophrenic nephew, when I can't even control my own freaky demented ballerina son who I'm sure has some sort of personality disorder?"

Escalus made some sort of noise.

"Well...in theory, yes" he said meekly "But I've told him if he behaves himself I'll buy him a pet llama and let him keep it in the palace grounds"

"Jesus Christ" groaned Angelo. He rubbed his tired eyes. He'd spend another sleepless night and he could barely keep himself awake. Maybe he should have taken the day off. But he couldn't let anyone find out what was wrong with him. He just couldn't. Not here. Not now.

"Will you do it?" asked Escalus "It's just...you have such a good, no-nonsense approach when dealing with kids like him, and he's already prank-called the Duke of Gloucester and the Thane of Glamis"

"Well, I don't have a choice, do I?" sighed Angelo "Yes, I'll supervise. But I have got a lot going on right now"

"I know, I understand. Being a grandparent is hard work"

It was on the tip of Angelo's tongue to say he didn't mean that, but he held himself back.

"Yeah, yeah, it is"

"How's the baby?"

"He's..." Angelo struggled for words. He'd only seen Alexei once "...fine. He's very cute. He looks like Gabe"

"How lovely. Our little Micro is already causing chaos. He grabbed Allegra's lip balm and drew all over the walls, the little monster"

"I bet" said Angelo "Oh, and I thought I ought to let you know. I need to take the afternoon off at some point next week"

"Oh, really? Anything urgent?"

"Dentist appointment" lied Angelo.

"Oh, ok, that's fine" said Escalus "Just as long as you are able to supervise whilst Mercutio prepares his comedy show. I don't want...oh, I don't know, Queen Mab dancing around in some morally questionable outfit"

"Of course" said Angelo.

"And Angelo," Escalus added, leaning forwards, and talking quietly "I know you're worried about the upcoming election, but this is the perfect time to raise publicity for yourself and let the public see you in a positive light"

"Oh" said Angelo, somewhat surprised "Thanks. I'll take your advice"

"I don't want you to lose power, Angelo" admitted Escalus "Out of all my deputies, I think I've worked best with you. Our ideologies are similar, and we've always been good at communicating our ideas with each other. I feel the same, you know, that we haven't been able to achieve as much as we would have liked"

"The opposition has just been so strong" agreed Angelo.

Escalus nodded and sighed "But never mind. We can only look to the future. Take this opportunity while you can, Angelo"

"I will. Thank you"

* * *

Sitting in her office, Amparo listened to the conversation on the spy bug she had placed in Escalus' office a few weeks ago.

_'Oh yes,' _she thought to herself _'we'll be taking advantage of this opportunity whilst we can...but you're going down, Angelo...'_

* * *

"Will we make the news of the complaint public?" asked Isabella.

"Most likely" replied Amparo, as they perched on her sofa, watching Alexei suck his dummy "But I am counting on rumours getting out before we are forced to make a statement"

"If so, how soon do you think it will be before rumours start to circle?"

"Just before the guests start to arrive" Amparo said firmly "If so, we'll divert media attention away from the wedding. It gives us the chance to humiliate Angelo a little bit. When the electoral debates begin in September, which is a month afterwards, by then he'll have no support. He'll be an unsupportable party leader, which means our party will be forced to get rid of him...leaving his seat open for me"

"You're right. And it gives us time to build the scandal up a little. He could make excuses, say it was a misunderstanding. This way, we'll have the final say" Isabella agreed.

"Exactly" said Amparo.

* * *

"This," announced Mercutio proudly "is the pantomime we are going to perform for all the guests. It is called, Romeo Hood and his Merry Montagues! Romeo's Robin Hood, I'm Little John, Benvolio's one of our Merry Montagues, Gabriel's Maid Marian-"

"No, I'm not!"

"I was just kidding!" Mercutio called back. He turned and grinned at Angelo "Gabriel is actually the Angry Drunk Fairy Godmother, aka Fairy G, and Tybalt is Jesus. They're going to narrate the play and make sarcastic comments the whole way through. Oh, and Tybalt as Jesus has to drag all the dead bodies offstage. That's why he's Jesus, and not, you know, Moses or someone"

"And tell me," Angelo yawned, rubbing his eyes tiredly "Why our guests would like to see this?"

"Because it is an adaption of Robin Hood, a beloved traditional tale of the English people, and some of our guests are English" replied Mercutio calmly.

"And what language will you perform it in?" asked Angelo.

"Ah" said Mercutio "OI! GABE! WHAT LANGUAGES DO YOU SPEAK?"

"Italian!" hollered Gabriel from backstage "French, German, Spanish, some Hebrew, some Latin, and I'm learning English! Oh, and don't call me Gabe!"

"Whatever! Can you translate the pantomime into either English or French? That's probably going to be the most popular language of our guests"

"Why have I got to do it?" whined Gabriel, marching onstage, his fairy costume flapping around him "Unless you seem to have forgotten, I happen to be the Danseur Noble of Verona Ballet-"

"Yes, we know!" Mercutio rolled his eyes.

"And I happen to be very busy preparing to perform in that too!" Gabriel snapped. He flicked his hair back "We're also performing to the guests"

"Gabriel, mind your manners! Even if you are only talking to a nutter!" Angelo shouted.

"He called Merc a nutter!" gasped Hermia "Umm! That's a bit mean!"

"How you be so mean, Angelo?" asked Romeo, hugging Mercutio, who was now pretending to cry "Look what you've done! You've made our Wooshy-wo cry!"

"Cut it out!" Tybalt stomped out, wearing a long white robe and fake beard "Or none of us Capulets will be in the panto!"

"Nooooo!" wailed Mercutio.

"Oi, I'm staying in the panto!" insisted Hermia.

"Yeah, and me!" added Juliet.

"And anyway, it's all right, Wooshy-wo, we don't want stupid Tibby in our panto anyway" said Allegra, hugging him.

"Meanie bum" Mercutio stuck his tongue out at Angelo and then Tybalt.

Angelo rolled his eyes "I don't feel well. Please, just get on with the rehearsal so I can see if it's suitable"

"You don't have to, you know" said Mercutio.

"Yes, I do. Escalus commanded me to"

"And you do everything Escalus says, don't you?" taunted Hermia.

"It's my job, Hermia"

"It's like," Hermia strutted around, with one hand outstretched "It's like Escalus is a dominatrix, and you're his sub!"

The room burst out laughing. Even Gabriel shrieked with laughter.

Angelo rolled his eyes again "Just get on with it. I could be sorting out my party's manifesto, but what am I doing? Supervising you kids!"

"We're not kids anymore, I'm twenty!" announced Mercutio.

"Well, why don't you act like it? When I was twenty I was working hard at university, where I was on the student council committee, and I was already involved with campaigning for the party which I now lead. I certainly wasn't calling people bum-bum faces and pooheads and wearing stupid outfits!"

"Oooh, you've gone and done it now, Mercutio!" Gabriel cackled "Before long, he'll start mocking your chosen profession even though he's not particularly successful himself, and then-"

"That's enough" snapped Rosaline firmly. She glared at Mercutio and Gabriel, who both gave her cheesy grins.

"Just get on with it" Angelo sighed.

Halfway through the first act, whilst Rosaline was still backstage, Mercutio nudged Benvolio and Romeo "Look!" he hissed "Angelo's asleep!"

"Aww, sleeping beauty" snickered Romeo "Who thinks we should draw a penis on his forehead in permanent marker?"

The rest of the cast giggled. Mercutio crept forwards, scribbled the penis on, and then grabbed Angelo's laptop.

"What are you doing?" asked Gabriel.

"Emailing Escalus, telling him how great and age-appropriate the pantomime is! Neither of them will ever know!"

The teenagers laughed, leaving the sleeping Angelo as the latest victim of their pranks, and Amparo thanking her lucky stars for the badly behaved young adults. She and Escalus walked into the hall where they were rehearsing, and Angelo slept.

"How's the pantomime?" asked Escalus.

"Fine!" replied Mercutio "Angelo emailed you just now. He says they'll love it"

"It's full of mature dry wit, intelligent sophisticated innuendo, with humour that's something for everyone" replied Romeo.

"Yeah!" cheered the others. Some of the cast who were waiting backstage walked on to see what the fuss was about.

Escalus smiled "It's so good to see you all grown up. I don't know where the time has gone. Not long ago, you were all dressing in drag and dancing to bizarre music, and now, here you all are, budding actors and actresses!"

"And dancers!" added Gabriel loudly.

"And dancers" said Amparo, for Gabriel's benefit. He beamed at her.

Suddenly, the smile on Escalus' lips faded "Now, I was actually hoping to have a word with Angelo"

"He's asleep" Mercutio pointed.

"Why has he got a...phallus, on his head? Mercutio, was that you?" scowled Escalus.

"No, why would I do such a naughty thing?" lied Mercutio.

Escalus frowned "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Mercutio frantically nodded. Escalus narrowed his eyes.

"It was me!" lied Gabriel.

Escalus shook his head, and shook Angelo's shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, Escalus! I am so sorry, I was just-!"

"Spare it" said Escalus, with an unusual coldness. Rosaline narrowed her eyes. Gabriel raised his eyebrows and giggled.

"Your Grace?" Angelo asked, perplexed. He never usually referred to Escalus as 'your grace' unless it was a state occasion. They worked together, and so it felt like there was no need.

"We'll go to my office" said Escalus.

"What for?" asked Rosaline, following after.

Angelo was equally bemused as she was. He turned around, and gently patted her shoulder "Don't worry, something's probably just come up. I'll text you later, sweetheart"

Gabriel glared at her enviously, but then Amparo stepped forwards and took him aside.

"This could take a while. Go back to work, and get ready for the evening performance"


	9. Family Affair

RichardIII1955 - Angelo's in some deep, deep shit! And you know what Mercutio's like!

Oh no! What's Angelo done? Or has he been set up? And how will Rosaline and Gabriel react to it?

Also, I don't know what happens when you get suspended from work. So, I just made Angelo and Escalus' conversation up. And two characters called Theobald and Ricardo are mentioned. They're not mine - they're Cornadopia's. Read her stories, they're really good!

* * *

Angelo was unable to move. He was speechless.

"I didn't do it" he choked out.

Escalus sighed "I'm sorry, Angelo, but we're going to have to suspend you"

"Suspend me? But I have to win this upcoming election! I need to be here for the wedding! Who will lead my party?"

"They'll be a vote amongst themselves, and they'll choose to someone to act in your place. For now"

Angelo shook his head again "I don't understand. I know I'm a flirt. But I'd never...I'd never sexually harass someone. If they asked me to stop, I would. I don't even recall saying more than a word to her at a time...don't do this, Escalus, it's not fair!"

"I'm sorry, Angelo" Escalus repeated. His cold composure slackened, and he lowered his voice "When they first brought me the complaint, I had to admit, I doubted it. Maybe this is just a remark gone wrong. Maybe you and Miss Montague can settle this out of court, but it's just, the law requires me to suspend you, with immediate effect, until I can resolve it. Whether or not I'll have to take it to court, I don't know yet, but I have to investigate it. Don't worry about your work here, your party will cover for you. We'll be able to cope with the wedding on our own. And look, it probably won't be for long, most likely you'll be back in a few weeks. It just gives us time to arrange an investigation, which probably won't come to anything, and then it'll all be fine again"

Angelo groaned softly.

"And if I were you" added Escalus "I'd tell your friends and family before anyone else can, so they hear your side of the story. I'll do my best to keep this confidential, but I can't promise that. Just in case of anything, let them hear the story from you"

"I'll tell my brother and my children tonight" decided Angelo, although he knew that was a task easier said than done. Rosaline would be disgusted. Whilst not an outward feminist, she firmly believed that women should not be harrassed in the workplace and should be treated equally. But Gabriel would be the worst. Gabriel hated men who hurt women. He had always mocked Angelo for flirting and accused him of being a womanizer.

Oh, Jesus. His ex wives. If Camilla found out, she'd soon be negotiating a kiss-and-tell deal with the press, and then he'd be in ruins. This would be her revenge for his affair and subsequent estrangement from his daughters, even though she had enforced it in the first place. No one would ever vote for him again. His political career would be over. He'd faced enough scandal to destroy it already. He was so, so lucky, to be where he was right now.

And if Camilla wasn't bad enough, then the wrath of Lina might be. Lina was Gabriel's mother, who he'd left Camilla to marry and raise his son with. And by god, did the brat take after her. Selfish, whiny, and unable to see the bigger picture.

At least Mariana would keep her mouth shut. She wasn't his ex wife, she was only his ex fiancé, which Angelo was grateful for. He had become engaged to her over five years ago, when Gabriel was thirteen or fourteen. Gabriel had hated her on sight, and did everything in his power to drive her out, in which he had prevailed. Angelo had to give him that. Gabriel had been resourceful, sly, and cunning, traits which Angelo liked to admire in himself. If only that boy could have put them to use, instead of being a bloody ballerina...

Back in the privacy of his office, Angelo pulled out a cardboard box, and began to stash away his personal belongings. At least, if he was suspended, he'd be able to stay at home before and after the biopsy to prepare and recuperate.

The biopsy. Angelo's heart beat wildly. Involuntarily, he crossed his legs and shuddered. Oh, why him, why now? Why did this all have to happen now?

"I thought you might want some help packing"

Angelo glanced up. Amparo lounged in the doorway.

"I'm fine, thanks" he muttered.

"Are you sure?" she raised her eyebrows "After all, you've been here five years. All that work...and now you've got to fit it into one cardboard box"

"I'm nearly done" Angelo almost snapped. He scooped up the box, and began to walk out the room. He turned back to look at her "What time does Gabriel get home?"

"Usually after eleven, but before midnight" replied Amparo "Why's that?"

"I need to talk to him. I need to tell him something. Can I nip into his dressing room before the show?"

"You could, but I wouldn't if I were you"

"Why's that?"

"Well, you wouldn't want him getting all upset before the show, would you?"

"Wait..." Angelo frowned "You know?"

Amparo smiled "Yes, Angelo, I know. I was the first person Isabella came too"

"This is supposed to be confidential!" cried Angelo.

"Oh, you needn't worry. We're only women. We'll only talk about you behind your back"

Amparo sauntered off, and Angelo was left to carry the box out to his car.

"Bye Angelo!" shouted Mercutio, leaning out the window "Are you going on holiday?"

"If only" muttered Angelo.

* * *

Gabriel patted the white powder over his shoulder. He was finished, and so he sat down and began to draw his beak on his forehead. The door knocked. He glanced down, noticing that he was only wearing his dance belt. He didn't want to disrupt the white powder by throwing a dressing gown over himself, so he called out.

"Who is it?"

"Amparo"

"Come in!" called Gabriel, comfortable with her seeing him in his state of undress. He didn't turn to greet her, concentrating on drawing the lines of his beak, but smiled at her in the large mirror "You brought my little angelcakes!"

"Here he is" Amparo waved Alexei's little chubby fist at him.

"This is a surprise" said Gabriel, colouring in his beak.

"I've come to tell you something" said Amparo.

"What is it?"

"At first, I didn't want to tell you, I didn't want to worry you or hurt your feelings, or anything, especially not now, whilst you're so busy, trying to be a dad to Alexei and the star of a show..."

"What?" repeated Gabriel, frowning.

"A few weeks ago, my friend Isabella came to me. She had something to tell me. Something about Angelo"

"What about him?"

"Isabella said," Amparo paused artfully "Are you sure you want to know? You're going onstage in less than half an hour"

Gabriel stopped painting his beak, and swivelled around "What is it? Tell me!"

"She said," Amparo took a breath "She said Angelo had been sexually harassing her"

"He WHAT!" shrieked Gabriel.

Alexei wailed as Gabriel seethed.

"The...bastard!" spat Gabriel "How could he do that? The arrogant, stuck-up, womanizing...urgh!"

He grabbed the pot of black paint and threw at the mirror. It smashed and the black liquid oozed down the mirror like black blood. Amparo blinked, and rocked Alexei.

"Sorry, Amparo, I just..." Gabriel trailed off. The door knocked, and someone called for him.

"I'm not even dressed" Gabriel stood upright, and pulled his feathered trousers on over his dance belt "I'm about to go onstage and I hear about this? Urgh! Angelo, he just has a funny way of ruining my life no matter what he does! How am I supposed to dance, to give my body over to the music and the rhythm, when I'm all stressed out about knowing this?"

"I'm sorry" said Amparo, although she was not "I just felt you ought to know"

"No, I don't blame you" said Gabriel, adjusting his costume and putting some last minute touches to his make-up. His eyes were lined with black and grey eyeliner, so they stood out from under all the white powder. He breathed out deeply, trying to gather a hold of himself. Amparo knew he wouldn't. Gabriel was dictated by his emotions.

"I'll see you after the show" he kissed her, and then kissed Alexei's blond head "I'll come and give you a cuddle afterwards, angelcakes"

He left, and Amparo sat down in Gabriel's chair, with Alexei on her lap. Gabriel was so useful, and he played right into her hands every time. Even so, she felt a little bad. She had come to care for him. He had many faults, and many reasons to be disliked, but what she found beneath she could admire. Who else dedicated their nights to learning languages so that they could converse with their fans? Who else survived and survived against their obstacles? In nineteen years, the boy had coped with the loss of his mother, an unhappy childhood, isolation and contempt from his peers, and homelessness, just to name a few.

She glanced down at Alexei.

"Ah, Alexei. Angelcakes. You've got no idea, have you? You've got absolutely no idea..."

* * *

"Oi! Ros!" hollered Tybalt.

"What!" shouted Rosaline, as she scrubbed herself with her favourite body scrub in the bath.

"Guess what Uncle Egues has just told me!"

"Whatever it is, I don't care. I'm having a bath, it can wait!"

"It's about your dad!" Tybalt shouted again.

"What about him?"

"He's been hit by a truck!"

"What?" repeated Rosaline, yanking open the bathroom door and peering out "Are you being serious?"

"No" said Tybalt, coming up the stairs to talk face to face with her. He stepped in and sat on the toilet seat, still facing her "He's been suspended"

"Suspended? Why?" gaped Rosaline.

"Because apparently, he sexually harassed Isabella Montague" Tybalt rolled his eyes, ignoring Rosaline's gasps "Although, to be honest, that cow is so frigid even so much as a wolf-whistle would classify as assault in her book"

"Tybalt, that is not funny!" scolded Rosaline "What did Uncle Egues say to you?"

"Just that Angelo had been suspended this afternoon when we were rehearsing Mercutio's stupid panto...tell me, Ros, why did we let ourselves get roped into it?"

"Because you were drunk and said you'd be Jesus, and I thought I may as well join in if Theobald and Ricardo were going to be the Sheriff's Evil Crew. _Someone_ needs to be around to tell those two what to do"

Tybalt gave a 'tsk' of laughter. Rosaline rinsed the remains of the body scrub from her shoulders. Her skin smooth and silky, and her golden hair running in riverlets down her back, she climbed out the bath. She tried to grab her towel from where Tybalt sat on it.

"Come and get it!" he taunted.

"Give it! I'm cold!"

"Maybe I just like looking at your-" Tybalt broke off in a squeal of pain after Rosaline twisted his arm back and pulled him off her towel. She tucked it around herself triumphantly. After patting herself dry and wrapping herself in her dressing gown, she picked up the telephone and dialled Angelo's number.

* * *

Angelo had been sitting with a glass of wine in one hand, and a cigarette in another. When the phone rang, he stubbed out his cigarette and picked up the phone.

"You've been suspended" stated Rosaline, coldly.

"I can explain..." Angelo began.

"Spare it. Tybalt's told me it all"

"I never said a word to her. This is just her being over the top. If she said to stop, I would have done. You have to believe me. You, of all people..."

"I don't know what to believe! On one hand, the Montagues have been my enemy-"

"Tybalt's enemies" scoffed Angelo.

"Which makes them mine as well" said Rosaline fiercely "And on the other hand, I have spent half my childhood listening to mum make allegations of your constant womanizing and Gabriel say more of the same. I don't think I want to hear your excuses"

"It's not an excuse, it's a reason! It's my defence! I'm innocent!" protested Angelo.

Rosaline hung up. Angelo gawped at the phone. Within minutes, it rung again. Angelo picked it up.

"YOU!" screamed Gabriel.

"What is it, Gabriel?"

"You're a pervert!" screeched Gabriel.

"I am not!" Angelo protested once again.

"And you're a life-ruiner" Gabriel howled.

"What else have I not done?"

"You made me ruin my show! I couldn't dance properly, because of you!"

"Oh, what a pity. I'm sure the world with never be the same" snapped Angelo sarcastically.

"Amparo came and told me before the show. She told me what you'd done. I hate men like you, they give the rest of us a bad name! How DARE you!"

"I didn't do it, Gabe"

"And don't call me Gabe! Or I'll cut you" threatened Gabriel.

"A likely threat" scorned Angelo "Hear me out. I didn't do anything she accused me of. Isabella came to use the photocopier, and left within ten minutes. I left too. I left the palace entirely. Ten minutes was hardly enough time to...to sexually harass someone"

"Well, where did you go?"

"Out" replied Angelo "To lunch. And the dentist"

"You went the week before"

"How would you know?" spat Angelo "I barely even speak to you. I've only seen Alexei once"

"And that's the last time you'll ever see him! I won't have for him a pervert for a grandfather!" Gabriel seethed "Oooh, you just wait until I get my hands on you!"

"And what will you do?" taunted Angelo, well and truly losing it "Bitch-slap me? You know I can knock you down. I'm taller and stronger than you are. You've never been able to fight me. Well, you have, but you've never been able to win. I can pin you within minutes. You're pathetic"

Gabriel was speechless.

"At least I'm not a sick perv! I can't wait to sell scandalous stories about you to the press! I'm going to tell them everything. I'm going to tell them about Camilla, my mother, Mariana, and then," Gabriel seethed "I'm going to play my trump card. I'll tell them all about Michael! Then you can kiss goodbye to your remaining conservative voters!"

"You dare" hissed Angelo "And I'll tell the press you're a psychological bully who manipulated his way to the top by bumping off better dancers"

"Good. Everyone loves scandal in the ballet world. You, however, are dead and your career is finished!"


	10. Mercutio Meets The Plantagenets

RichardIII1955 - Yes! She has a darker side that no one has suspected yet! They all just think she's Gabe's cougar!

Angelo's suspended! Ummmm! But is he really guilty? We'll find out later. Today, Mercutio greets some very important guests, and things go...just a little...wrong. By the way, these characters are from Shakespeare's so-called 'history' plays. They're not actually very historical. Richard III did NOT have a hunchback, and he was, in fact, quite a nice guy. Edward IV, was, however, a bit of a lad, and did like to spend time with the ladies. Therefore, it does make sense when womanizer meets man-eater, they'll get it on with each other.

* * *

In the wake of Angelo's suspension, Escalus found himself having to rely on others he wouldn't have used to do so. There was absolutely no time to dwell on Angelo's supposed actions. Ralph took over leadership of Angelo's party, with Amparo assisting him. Escalus had known Ralph for ages, and trusted him. He was also fond of Amparo, and sensed in her the potential for something great.

Out of his three nephews, Paris was the first to get married. Mercutio had been with Allegra for a while now, and she had given birth to their already mischievous baby boy, but they still hadn't tied the knot. Escalus wondered what sort of wedding they would have. Knowing Mercutio, they would dance down the aisle, and sing their vows whilst he played his ukulele.

As for Paris, Escalus found himself looking forward to the ceremony, and seeing some of the guests. He was especially looking forward to seeing his little princess, Sofia. Escalus had precious little time to see his daughter, due to his role and separation from his ex wife. He did his best, he sent her presents, he spoke to her on the phone whenever he could, but nothing compared to seeing her in person. Perhaps when she was older, and he summoned her to court to teach her how to rule Verona, they would spend more time together.

As well as this, he was largely pleased, and also largely surprised, with Mercutio's growing responsibility and involvement with royal duties. As Escalus busied himself with welcoming King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, and young Prince Hamlet (who was even more angsty and depressed than the last time he had seen him) to Verona, he found himself trusting Mercutio to welcome the English royal family. Or families, depending on how you viewed it.

He knew he could trust him. Mercutio would be fine, he told himself. He knew that Mercutio had Benvolio there to make sure he stayed in check and that Hermia, Allegra, and Juliet were sitting at reception that day, as the usual team were occupied with other duties.

With sensible people like Benvolio and Juliet around, of course Escalus could trust his youngest nephew. Of course he could.

* * *

"Wheeeee!" shrieked Hermia, swivelling around on the spinny chair.

"Ha!" giggled Allegra, copying.

"Remember when we," Juliet gasped with laughter "had a race down the halls of the Capulet Manor on these, and nearly killed one of Aunty Regina's cats?"

"Oh, god yeah!" Hermia laughed again, grabbing the desk to give herself more momentum. Suddenly, she caught sight of several visitors emerging through the door, and grabbed the desk again to steady herself. Unfortunately, the chair swung back, and Hermia lurched forwards onto the ground.

"Oh, crap!" cursed Juliet "Hermia, you all right?"

"Visitors!" Hermia pointed, half giggling, half wincing with pain.

"Ciao!" greeted Allegra, as Juliet went to help Hermia up "Posso aiutarti?"

"Uh...siamo inglese?"

"English" said Juliet. She pushed Allegra aside and grabbed a language dictionary "She speak no English. Can I help you..." she rifled through the dictionary "instead?"

"Hello ma'am" said a tall man with fair hair "We have been invited to the wedding"

"Name?" asked Hermia, grabbing some forms.

"King Edward, the fourth of his name, of England!"

"No, my father's the king of England!" snapped a haughty looking young man. He shoved forwards a poor, hapless looking man, who gazed around blankly.

"Shut up Edouard! The Lancasters are finished!" King Edward turned around and shouted.

"Enough!" Hermia yelled into the tannoy system so it echoed around the palace. Juliet and Allegra sniggered. The families swallowed their arguments, and stood still, looking at her.

"Two kings cannot be, you tell me who-" retorted Hermia, getting up. Suddenly, she caught sight of the first king to introduce himself, and her eyes widened.

"Yes, there can!" hissed Juliet in their native language "Civil war!"

"Oh, right!" Hermia cleared her throat "Allegra, show them to the throne room!"

"It's your turn!"

"And I can't be bothered!"

"I don't even speak English!"

"Then speak French! They're royal, they'll probably know French"

"Mercutio doesn't!"

"Mercutio's just lazy!"

"No, he's not!"

"Or maybe in the time it takes them to argue over who will escort us, we could go there ourselves" sighed a short and slender dark-haired youth, of around the same age as them. He stood with the Yorkists, and wore their colours, but he did not look like the king.

Allegra got up, and led them through. Hermia and Juliet listened as a woman, who looked so haughty she could only be the mother of the first young man, rant about the unsatisfactory greeting.

Juliet shook Hermia "What is it?"

Hermia chewed her lip "It's not everyday when half your one-night stands all show up at once. I mean, first the Danes, with Horatio, then the Scots, now the Brits! Jesus Christ, I hope they don't all recognise me!"

"Oh, bloody hell, Hermia!" cried Juliet "You put it about like a guy! When did you _do_ all these guys!"

"Well, I am a tomboy" Hermia shrugged.

"Well if you're talking about King Number One, then I've heard he puts it around with practically everyone. He probably doesn't even remember your name, and as for Horatio, everyone spends half their time telling him to go away anyway..."

Meanwhile, Allegra led the English royal families along the halls of Verona Palace. They glanced around, murmuring with delight about the architecture. They passed some decorative suits of armour, which turned out to be very decorative as Mercutio (it was most likely to have been Mercutio) had decorated them with feather boas and cowboy hats. Half of her wanted to giggle, and the other half of her wanted to flame red with embarrassment.

She greeted the guards at the door "The English royal family, to be received by Merc"

The guards flung open the doors.

"Your highnesses" announced the guard "I present to you, his royal highness, Mercutio Vincentino"

The royal party walked in, and bowed, and then looked up at Mercutio, sitting on Escalus' throne.

He was a very...strange looking boy, really. His dark hair was wild and stuck up in the air like he had put in his finger in a plug socket and received an electric shock. His green eyes were wide and googly, and sparkled with mischief. His wide mouth looked as though he spent most of his time grinning. He was wearing a lopsided crown that obviously did not belong to him, and a long royal ceremonial robe drapped precariously over his shoulders, that also looked as if it did not belong to him. Under this, he was wearing pink trousers, a green shirt, and a pink waistcoat. At his feet, sat a slobbery black labrodor dog, panting.

"Oooh, look, Benvolio!" he exclaimed, whilst scratching behind the dog's ears "They just bowed to me!"

"Then you should bow back!" hissed the boy addressed as Benvolio. This boy looked somewhat tamer, wearing a smart shirt and tie, but his hair was also scruffy and he was wearing glasses. He looked as though he spent his life despairing over something or another.

"Oh, right!" grinned Mercutio. He stood up "So which one of you is the king?"

"Mercutio asks which one of you is the king" a translator repeated.

"I am!" declared Edward.

"No, he is!" Edouard, the haughty-looking young man, pointed at his father, who was still staring into space.

The translator quickly repeated their words in Italian to Mercutio.

"Well, there can't be two of you" Mercutio frowned "I'm not bowing twice, I've already got back ache from bowing to all those bloody dukes just now!"

"Mercutio, that's insensitive!" hissed Benvolio, hushing the translator "One of them has scoliosis, and there's a civil war, that's why there's two kings!"

"Well, anyway, hi guys, welcome to Verona, I'm Lord Sexybum, this is my dog, Monty, and this is my friend, Sir Ben Dover. I'm taking charge of your entertainment whilst you're here, so hopefully your stay will be fun, fun, FUN!"

"Is this a joke?" whispered Edward's wife, Elizabeth, after they heard the translation.

"I don't know. Just smile and nod!" Edward whispered back.

"Who wants to go on the bouncy castle?" asked Mercutio "I rented one and put it up in the courtyard. I asked Prince Hamlet, and he cried and said he was too depressed. I asked King Duncan, but he said he didn't want his kilt flapping up and down. Which is a shame, because I really want to know what he wears underneath it"

Upon hearing the translation, the party was silent.

"Perhaps we could see our rooms" said the slender dark-haired man.

"Oh, they're out there" Mercutio pointed out the window. At the stables.

"This is ridiculous!" snarled Edouard "This is a complete joke. This palace is so unbelievably low-rent. It's like Hogwarts for pikeys. Where the hell is this Prince Escalus?"

Amparo heard the commotion. Of course Mercutio wasn't to be trusted. She stepped into the hall. Her plan to shame Angelo in the press and media hadn't worked out the way she had wanted, as Escalus insisted on keeping it confidential. And she hadn't been handed temporary leadership of the party. She was merely assisting Ralph. But there was time to deal with that later. Now, however, Angelo was away. Now was the time to prove herself. Her English wasn't particularly good. She spoke both Spanish and Italian, and so her best bet would be that someone would be able to translate.

"Your highnesses" she curtsied, which she had practised repeatedly before the impending visits "I am Amparo Duarte. I will show you to your rooms, and arrange for someone to bring your luggage to you"

Her words were translated. Her best had been correct. The families looked relieved, and followed her. Mercutio sulked, disappointed of his chance to cause chaos.

"Merc, what have I told you?" scolded Hermia, flouncing into the room "You have to behave yourself until the panto! Otherwise they'll see what we're up to and won't let us do it! We need to bide our time!"

"I don't want to be in the panto! I suck at acting!" cried Benvolio.

"No, you don't!" said Mercutio loudly "And we need you to be the Merry Montague. You're doing it"

"But I don't want to!"

"I don't care" sang Mercutio "I wrote that panto. You can show your amazing writer bitch friend your appreciation for my sexy skills by performing"

Benvolio trembled.

* * *

"Now the Plantagenets are here, I have to warn you once again" said Escalus "They will be trying to create alliances and gather aid. We must remain neutral"

"Yes, Escalus" said Duke Gonzaga, who ruled Mantua "We've been very careful. One of the Yorkists, the Duke of Gloucester, to be precise, has already approached me. I told him no, and to prevent any quarrels, or friction, I told him I had also declined the Lancasters"

"Good. Keep to your resolves"

"If I may say so" said the Duke of Venice "But the civil war is causing serious trouble with the trading industry. We're already in recession, and my city can't afford to lose anymore growth. I know this contradicts everything the city states of Italy have been aiming to achieve, but wouldn't it be prudent to back one family, and I'm not saying who, but back the family who is most likely to succeed, in order to end the civil war, and bring back safe trading routes and allow many Italians to be able to reunite with their loved ones trapped in England by the lack of safe travel?"

"I understand where you are coming from" nodded Escalus "But it's too risky. Who is, just out of curiosity, the winning side at present?"

"The Lancasters. They have allied themselves to the so-called King-maker, and the King of France" replied the Duke of Padua.

"Then perhaps," said the Duke of Venice, "It might be within our best interests to aid the Lancasters, speed up the end of the war, and rebuild our trading relationships?"

"No" said Amparo.

The whole table turned and looked at her.

"No?" repeated the Duke of Venice incredulously.

"No" said Amparo firmly.

"Why not?" the Duke of Venice shook his head "And, if you don't mind my asking, but where is Angelo?"

"He's been suspended" replied Escalus.

"For what?" gaped Duke Gonzaga.

"That's between Angelo and myself" said Escalus, quietly and firmly "Ms. Duarte, Amparo, here, is filling in for him at this meeting. Ralph is attending to the some more important guests as they arrive"

"So if you don't mind my asking, Miss. Amparo, but why do you oppose us aiding the Lancasters?"

"Several reasons" Amparo placed her hands on the desk "Firstly, we have all vowed to remain neutral. Secondly, we are a collection of city states, so that each of us along has limited power and resources, and therefore, if there is a divide between us, where some wish to aid and others do not, our aid would be fairly limited. Thirdly, if we supported the wrong side, we would have to deal with some serious repercussions. If there is divide between us, then I fear that either side may try to use that to their advantage to create turmoil, when our alliance has been so successful and for such a long time. And finally, I think we ought to look at the qualities of each family, and each so-called king, before we decide which would be best"

"Are you suggesting we become king-makers as well?" retorted the Duke of Padua.

"No" said Amparo.

"She is right though" added Duke Gonzaga "How long have you been in politics?"

"When have I not been in politics, that's the question" Amparo cleared her throat "I am starting to favour towards aiding one side, as the effect of the civil war is starting to tear a hole in Europe, but I think we need to be careful. The long-term repercussions of this decline in trade is leading to job losses, something we cannot afford, especially as we have so many young people leaving school and entering the job market, and so it is important that the conflict is resolved quickly, and neatly. However, if we favour the side most likely to win, then that could also have some bad repercussions. Such as, if they are not adequate to rule successfully and restore the kingdom to success, then more economic chaos could be in store, which could place us in a worse position than we were in before. Henry is a nice man. Truly, he is. But clearly, there are some problems with his ruling capabilities. And that wife of his is a domineering banshee. Give me time, and I will be able to assess each side, and then I will tell you who I think deserves our support"

"And how will you do that? We don't have much time! The guests won't be here for very long, and we can't cause more trouble and disruption" cried the Duke of Venice.

"This isn't how Angelo would do it!" protested Escalus "Angelo would look for which side would give us the most support or rewards in return for aid"

"Never mind Angelo. He has proved himself to also be an incompetent ruler" said Amparo "I will do this my way. And my first step, will be to speak to the women"


	11. Husbands and Wives

RichardIII1955 - Wait until you meet Sir Hugh Jass!

Hahaha, the Plantagenets are here, and Mercutio's winding them up! So, let's get to know a few of the women. Be warned, there is some husband-bashing. And I doubt the real Edouard was a 'Kitten-Killer'

* * *

Anne's Italian was not very good. But two sisters, one who was the heir to Lord Capulet, and the other, her bastard half-sister, had taken her under her wing. They spoke English that was, whilst poor, at the very least understandable.

"Come see Gabriel" instructed Hermia, pulling her along "He crazy but speak many language"

"Italian, French, German, Spanish, English" added Juliet.

"This way" Hermia steered Anne around the gardens of Verona Palace. It was a beautiful sunny day. A variety of pavilions were set up on little verandas around the grounds. Amparo sat at the head of a table under one that was entwined with honeysuckle growing up the lattice. Fat rose bushes bloomed all around, the fragrance of their flowers tantalising the air. To Amparo's side, Gabriel, evidently missing dance rehearsal, sat delicately arranging a tray of cakes and light refreshments.

"This Ms. Duarte" said Juliet "She politician"

"Hello, Lady Anne" said Amparo, using the few words of English that she had asked Gabriel to teach her.

"This Gabriel, who speak many language" said Juliet. She turned, and addressed Gabriel in Italian "This is Lady Anne Neville. Have you met her before?"

"I don't believe I've had the pleasure. I have been away from Escalus' court for some time now" said Gabriel.

"Well, if you would be so kind, Gabriel, I need you to translate between us all" said Amparo "Ask Lady Anne to sit down and offer her a cake"

Gabriel got up and pulled out a chair "Here, do sit down with us. We have cakes, and tea, and it's such a lovely day, it's a crime not to spend it outside"

"Thank you" said Anne, surprised at the kindness and hospitality of the Italians, after the coldness at Edouard and Margaret's court.

Hermia was already tucking into a chocolate cake. Juliet let Anne take one before her.

"Ask Lady Anne how she likes Italy" instructed Amparo in Italian.

"How do you like Italy, Lady Anne?" asked Gabriel.

"It's beautiful. And it's so warm. And the people are so kind"

"She says it's beautiful and it's warm, and the people are kind" Gabriel translated back to Amparo.

"Ask her what she thinks of Mercutio!" snickered Hermia.

"No, Hermia!" Juliet batted her.

"Could you tell them that these cakes are delicious?" asked Anne.

"Of course" said Gabriel. He turned back, and translated for the other women.

"Chocolate best" Hermia nodded. She sat up straight, and looked over at the bouncy castle where Mercutio was trying to get Hamlet to play with him. Romeo and Benvolio were trying to dissuade him, but it wasn't working "Anne, see that? That my Ben"

"And that is my Romeo" added Juliet.

"And Gabriel is mine" Amparo affectionately caressed Gabriel's blond hair. It was like a stab in the heart to Anne. They were all so happy together. Why couldn't she be happy like that too? Why had they made her marry the evil Lancaster heir? She didn't care about money or status, so why had they made her marry him? It wasn't fair.

"Anne, sei triste" said Hermia.

"She says you look sad" Gabriel translated.

"I am sad" admitted Anne.

"Perchè sei triste?" asked Hermia.

"She asked why you are sad" Gabriel turned back to Anne.

"For a lot of reasons" sighed Anne.

"Perhaps you would like to tell us" said Amparo gently, as Gabriel whispered the translation.

"I can't" whispered Anne.

"Gabriel, translate for me again" instructed Amparo "Tell Lady Anne, I didn't just invite her here for cake and tea. I have some important questions I need to ask her"

Gabriel translated, and then translated back Anne's reply.

"Lady Anne said she would like to know what you have invited her for, and what kind of questions that you are going to ask her. She is worried about being overhead"

Amparo looked gently at Anne, and said gently "Anne, I mean no harm to you. None of us will hurt you. We are your friends here. You don't have to fear being overheard, and what I ask you, because Gabriel will translate into Spanish for me. No one else apart from us can speak Spanish"

Gabriel translated again. Anne answered.

"She says she fears that we will pass the information on, and people will know it was her, because she fears no one else will have access to that information. She says she won't tell us any military strategies in case she causes trouble"

"Tell her I do not seek military strategies, I only seek some character assessments"

"What are they on about?" whispered Hermia to Juliet.

Juliet turned to her "The conflict in England is wrecking havoc on the economy, and the Italian city states are considering supporting a side in order to bring an end to the conflict faster and restore safe trading. Amparo has asked if she would be able to assess the personalities and skill at ruling of each fraction so that she could tell which side to support"

Hermia looked confused "I don't get it"

"You don't need to. At the end of this, Amparo's promised me she'll help Anne. That's what I care about"

"Tell me about King Henry" said Amparo.

"King Henry...he is kind and gentle, and religious, but he is controlled by his wife. She makes decisions for him when he's ill...and sometimes, when he's well...but he can't..." Anne lowered her voice so low Gabriel had to lean forward to hear "he can't fight her. He can't stand up for himself. He's a good man who means no harm to his people...but he's weak"

"Hmm" said Amparo, after hearing the translation "Tell me about his son, his heir. Your husband"

"Prince Edouard...he's impulsive, short-tempered, and he's..."

"Tell us. We will not judge you for your opinion"

Anne lowered her voice "He's evil. He bullies his poor little cousin, Henry Tudor, and he killed my kitten. He's a monster"

"He killed a kitten!" screamed Gabriel "Cat-killer! The bastard!"

"Gabriel, shut your mouth!" hissed Amparo "Everyone is looking at you. Remember our promise to Lady Anne?"

Gabriel settled down, and then said the rest of Anne's sentence in Spanish.

"Well. He won't make a very good king, then, will he?" remarked Amparo "Now, Anne, as I know, you've spent time with both sides. What are the Yorkists like?"

"King Edward is a good military leader and strategist, and he has given us several years of peace. He's a womanizer, but he is good at heart. He wants people to like him, and he likes to like people. He'd never treat people cruelly who didn't deserve it. He's a lovely brother to..." a blush crept up Anne's cheek "Richard"

Amparo listened to Gabriel's translations, and turned to give her reply.

"If they're both womanizers, then neither of them make good rulers in my opinion" remarked Gabriel.

"Edward is just a flirt. Edouard is a psycho. There's a difference" muttered Anne "Edward will give England peace again. Edouard will hunt down and kill anyone who displeases him, and his mood is so unstable. He snaps at me for things that aren't even...that aren't even things to be mad about. After I was made to marry him, we didn't..." she blushed again "So that we could annul the marriage after he found someone he liked more or who would be more useful to him. I'm not even a person to him"

"What a pig!" cursed Gabriel.

"What did she say?" asked Amparo. Gabriel translated again. Amparo looked disgusted. She turned back to Anne "Tell me more of the Yorkist family. Can they win the war? Will they treat you kindly?"

"I don't know" admitted Anne "Richard always treated me kindly, and he once said that he loved- I can't be sure. War has changed him. He's darker now. But when I knew him as a boy, although he could be manipulative, it was always to his enemies and those who had wronged him. In his heart, he tried to be a good man. He was so loyal to those he loved. I don't know what he still feels for me, I mean, my family, I..."

"Lei è terrorizzata" observed Hermia "Amparo, Gabriel, smettere. Sta scuotendo"

"What did she say?" asked Anne, her face white.

"She says you look scared" explained Gabriel "You're shaking"

Anne glanced at her fingers. Hermia had been right. They were shaking.

"Here, drink this" Gabriel poured her a pot of tea "Calm down. We will keep you safe. And if I see the 'Kitten-Killer' then I'll-"

"Thank you, Lady Anne" said Amparo, her mind firmly made up "You must not tell anyone of this, but I want you to hold onto your hope. We will do everything in our power to get you out of there"

"Gabe, tell Anne she can stay with us" urged Hermia "I don't know what's going on, but tell her we can arrange for her to stay with us. We'll just say it's safer for her during the war"

"Don't call me Gabe!" snapped Gabriel, before turning and repeating her words to Anne.

"Thank you again, Lady Anne" said Amparo, standing up to leave "Now, I have to go and see Queen Elizabeth. I will not repeat a word of this to her. I will be asking her similar questions"

"In Italy, you safe" Hermia began to say "I protect you. I fight Edouard if want"

Anne smiled at her friends "Grazie"

* * *

Queen Elizabeth had taken Rosaline under her wing, as it appeared. Rosaline had always longed to be part of a royal court, and now she finally felt as though she had joined it. Elizabeth requested that she join her for tea and invited her to join her on the terrace, along with Lady Macbeth. She even let her play with her children, although that was a task that Rosaline, the renowned child-hater, preferred to leave to the nannies. Thankfully, Lady Macbeth felt the same way.

Rosaline watched as her half-brother and his girlfriend departed Hermia, Juliet, and one of the girls from the English court.

"Your grace, may I ask who she is?" Rosaline discreetly pointed. For the past year or so, Rosaline had taken advantage of her universities language learning classes. She now spoke a fair amount of English. Originally, she had intended to learn German, as it was supposedly the language of science and business, but she soon decided it was an ugly language with truly hideous sounding words. So, instead, she selected English. It was far more widespread anyway.

"That's Anne Neville. Edouard's wife. My brother-in-law's childhood sweetheart" said Elizabeth.

"Don't you mean _was_?"

The three women laughed. Amparo and Gabriel were now approaching them.

"Here come the rest of our guests" remarked Elizabeth "Am I correct to believe that is your brother, Lady Rosaline?"

"I'm not Lady Rosaline, I'm only Mrs. Capulet" replied Rosaline "And yes, your grace, that is my brother"

She wished she was a lady, though. She'd always wanted a title. Queen Rosaline sounded fine, but it was out of the question. Princess Rosaline was a little more within her grasp, but was once again highly unlikely. Lady Rosaline was not out of the question. There were plenty of bachelors in Verona who could have given her that title. But Rosaline had always wanted to be Rosaline Capulet. As a girl, she had always believed that to be the height of prestige. But for the first time, she truly saw how...quite...insignificant, the Capulets were in relation to the rest of the world.

They were just one noble family, in one city, in one country. The Plantagenets were spread out all over Europe through marriage. The Macbeths had Scotland in their back pocket. And Rosaline had married Lord Capulet's nephew by his younger sister. He wasn't even going to inherit anything, and he barely ever was invited to court.

She'd given up her surname, Oftmoro, so eagerly to take Tybalt's, to become part of the elusive clan that was the Capulet family. Why? Was it because her mother's family was diminished and she'd never have her own wealthy influential family? All she was now, was Rosaline Capulet. All her children would ever inherit would be Tybalt's name. Oh, and money, if Rosaline's business plans and small investments came to fruitation.

Rosaline sighed, looking longingly at Lady Macbeth and Queen Elizabeth. Oh, if only she was like them...if only she had riches and power...Lady Macbeth practically ran Glamis. All Macbeth had to do was her bidding. And Queen Elizabeth had risen through the ranks like Rosaline herself, except she was now a queen, and Rosaline was still only at university. Queen Rosaline sounded so wonderful...

But even though Elizabeth was queen, people still referred to her as Elizabeth Woodville. No matter what Rosaline did, her roots would always be the same. Suddenly, it occurred to Rosaline that her maiden name had been Oftmoro, rather than her father's name of Fulgencio. She wondered why that was. Her parents had been married at the time of her birth, it made sense for her to take Angelo's surname.

Her mind then turned to Angelo. She had been cold towards him the last time they spoke. But then, she was in shock. She knew he was a womanizer, but she didn't think he'd harass someone. That was just...no. Angelo had dated around for years. He knew the boundaries well enough. Before her wedding to Tybalt, Angelo had offered to kill him if he set one toe out of line. One wrong word, one dirty look, and he'd have sorted him out. So why would he harass someone himself?

Maybe she should talk to him again, and get his side of the story. She shouldn't give up now, not when she'd worked so hard to build a relationship.

"Hello, Gabriel" said Rosaline "Amparo"

Rosaline had admiration for Amparo. She was the sort of woman Rosaline had hoped to become, yet at the same time, she was suspicious of her. There was so much...ambition in those dark eyes of hers. Maybe people saw it in her own ice blue ones, but Rosaline did not like to see it in other people's eyes.

"Hi, Rosaline" Gabriel turned and bowed to Elizabeth "Your grace, Lady Macbeth"

Amparo followed curtsied. Rosaline watched her, taking note of her appearance and behaviour. There was nothing suspicious about the way she looked. She looked professional in a white wrap around blouse and black trousers. But what Rosaline was curious about was how she had gone from talking to Lady Anne Neville, who was the wife of the Lancaster heir, to Elizabeth, who was the Yorkist's queen.

"Gabriel, please tell Queen Elizabeth thank you for inviting me to join her out on the terrace"

Gabriel turned, and translated Amparo's message into English. Rosaline was able to follow the simpler words. She wondered why Amparo had dragged Gabriel out of his beloved dance rehearsals to translate for her, when there were half a dozen translators dotted around the palace for conversation.

"Queen Elizabeth says you are most welcome, and it is a pleasure to be able to acquaint herself with some of the saner inhabitants of Verona" replied Gabriel. Rosaline masked a giggle, and the corners of Lady Macbeth's mouth lifted in a smile. Elizabeth's children shrieked and played on the rug that a nanny had laid down for them. Rosaline frowned. How was she going to hear what was being said?

Somehow, Amparo managed to steer the conversation onto the topics of husbands. What did she want to hear about that for? From what Rosaline knew of Amparo, she knew she was not fond of discussing typical women's topics, such as husbands.

"Oh, he might be king, but he leaves his dirty socks lying around the bedroom like a slob" complained Elizabeth.

"Oh, just like Tybalt!" Rosaline couldn't resist adding.

"Oh, men! They're so useless! Macbeth can never get around to doing jobs. I have to nag and nag him, or do it myself!" complained Lady Macbeth.

"And Tybalt snores" Rosaline wrinkled her nose.

"Oh, I hate it when Edward snores! Especially when he's drunk! He's so loud!"

"Tybalt gets drunk all the time!" Rosaline rolled her eyes.

Amparo looked bored and restless. Gabriel was giggling delightedly.

"So does Ned! Once, he got so drunk," Elizabeth glowered "He called me by his ex girlfriend's name!"

"Oh, Macbeth did that once! I was so angry, but I bided my time, and then called him by my ex boyfriend's name on our wedding anniversary. He soon learnt his lesson!"

"Oh, I love it!" Gabriel giggled "That's so beautifully bitchy!"

* * *

Later that evening, Rosaline rested her elbows on the window sill, gazing out over the grounds of the Capulet Manor. When she was little, the Capulet Manor had seemed like the biggest place in the world. But now she realised that there really wasn't that much of it at all.

What did all the other castles look like? What did Lady Macbeth's castle up in the heights of Scotland look like? And what was Elizabeth's court like? Rosaline so badly wanted to see it. When the war was done, and everything had been restored to it's proper place. She wanted to see it all.

"Hello?" said Angelo, after she dialled his name.

"Hi, Dad"

"Rosaline!" he sounded delighted to hear from her, which was unusual. Angelo was not given to excessive displays of emotions.

"How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine"

There was something hesitant in Angelo's voice. He sounded too casual. Rosaline frowned. Something suspicious was going on. First Amparo, and now Angelo. She knew how to smell a rat, and she smelt one now.

"Anyway, it's not about me, it's about you. How are you?" asked Angelo "Are you enjoying the pre wedding entertainments? Have you made friends with any of the guests?"

"Oh, yes, I love it. Queen Elizabeth likes me, she asks me to sit with her, and play with her children, even though I don't like doing it very much. But mostly we sit and talk. She says I'm beautiful and it's a shame that I've never travelled to any of the other courts. And Lady Macbeth likes me too. She says I'm clever and that I'll go far. She thinks my business plans have great potential. Today, we all sat out on the terrace talking. Everything was fine until Amparo and Gabriel showed up and starting talking about husbands. They soon left, because we bored them all to tears by talking about when they leave their dirty socks on the floor. Serve her right for intruding anyway!"

"Amparo wanted to talk to you about husbands?"

"Yes" said Rosaline "It seemed very suspicious to me. I'd seen her talking to Slut One and Slut Two – that's Hermia and Juliet if you're wondering – and Lady Anne Neville, Edouard of Lancaster's wife. Why would she be talking to a Lancaster and then a Yorkist?"

Angelo was silent for a moment.

"Dad? Are you all right?"

"Oh, I think I know why" he muttered.

"Why?"

"The civil war in England" explained Angelo "Before I was suspended, we were debating whether or not to declare an alliance to a particular side. I know what Amparo's doing"

"She's talking to the wives on each side to find out what they're really like" Rosaline said, almost as quickly as Angelo just finished talking "That's a good idea. That's a very good idea"

Angelo was silent "It is a good idea" he admitted. He sounded almost regretful.

"What's the matter?" asked Rosaline.

"Nothing" lied Angelo. He paused "Rosaline, do you forgive me yet? For the harassment thing?"

"Will you tell me your side of the story?"

"Until you can forgive me, I will"

He told her. Once again, it was difficult to know who was in the right. It was his word against hers.

But he was her dad. He always took her word against other people. Even when she was blatantly wrong. And now he needed someone on his side.

"Until I can come back," said Angelo "Can you do me a favour?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"I need to you to keep an eye on Amparo. I think she's up to something. I don't know precisely what yet. I think it's a bit suspicious. That Isabella, she's her friend. And Isabella has always opposed by party policies. But then, why would she be in league with Amparo, when Amparo is in my party and shares many of my political opinions?"

"I have as little idea as you do, dad" said Rosaline.

"I'll tell you what, Rosaline. Save yourself some back-stabbing, and never enter politics" sighed Angelo.

"Don't worry, I want to work in business"


	12. The Pantomime

RichardIII1955 - Thanks!

Cornadopia - Thanks!

So, the long awaited pantomime is about to begin! I actually wrote this pantomime with my friend Reb for our school, the difference being that the Jeremy Kyle Show featured the Big Bad Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Three Little Pigs, and it was PG rated. If you want to read the whole thing, it's on my page, and if you want to watch it, email me and I'll send you the link.

* * *

"Mercutio says that these paintings reflect the animal characteristics within people that he knows" explained Gabriel, as Mercutio guided the guests along the art gallery, displaying an exhibition of his work.

"Tell them that one is Tybalt" Mercutio pointed at a painting of a ginger tomcat with Tybalt's head painted on.

"That one is Tybalt Capulet, from the Capulet family" Gabriel explained.

"And that one is you"

Gabriel turned, and saw his head painted on a white swan in a hissing pose.

"Har har" he rolled his eyes.

"And tell them to come along this way, I want to show them the nudist paintings"

"This is disturbing" whispered Richard to Edward. He pointed at Mercutio "That boy disturbs me"

"I know, he disturbs me too"

"Mercutio would like you to come around this corner" Gabriel called.

"And he's disturbing too!" cried Richard, pointing at Gabriel "What exactly does he do? And why is he even here?"

"He's a ballet dancer from what I've heard. And he speaks about five languages, so I guess that's why he's here" shrugged Edward. They turned around the corner into the area with the nudist painting section. Edward gaped "Whoa!"

"Oh, bloody hell!" cried Richard. The person in the painting lay with their back to them. They were naked, and gazing into a mirror held up by cherubs. They couldn't see the face of the person from the pose they were laying in, but in the reflection of the mirror, was Paris' face.

"Mercutio!" screamed Paris "How...that's disgusting!"

"Paris! That's not a nice thing to say about yourself! You really need to build up your self-esteem" Mercutio tutted. He wandered along "Oh, look! It's Benvolio in the shower! He didn't even know I was drawing him, and I couldn't get a decent close up of his doodle, so I had to rely on descriptions from Hermia. Isn't he sexy?"

"Tell Mercutio that I think he's scary" said Richard to Gabriel.

Gabriel turned to Mercutio "The Duke of Gloucester says he thinks you're scary"

"Tell the Duke of Gloucester I'm going to draw him next"

Gabriel did, and Richard screamed and ran out the hall.

"Mercutio!" Benvolio blushed bright red when he saw it "When did you do that! That's gross!"

"You don't have a gross body, Ben! You're sexy!"

"Get me out of here" whimpered Benvolio, as the guests buzzed around the painting.

"Now, let's look at this one!" Mercutio pointed "Gabriel, tell them..."

* * *

"Angelo, it's good to see you again" Escalus shook his hand, and then pulled Angelo into an awkward one-armed 'man-hug' "You look well"

That was a lie, and Angelo knew it. He looked pale and he had lost some weight. There were purple bags under his eyes.

"Thanks, I suppose it's been a good chance to get the house cleaned up and put some things in order"

"Well, come in, take a seat"

They both sat down.

"Well, I'm going to go straight to the point, Angelo. I've spoken to both you and Isabella, and I've heard both sides of the stories. Besides Amparo bringing me the complaint, there are no other witnesses. It's your word against hers, and there's no way of telling who is in the right. You've had no misdemeanours before, so I'm going to give you a written warning. Personally, I think she has taken a remark the wrong way, but I have to consider the safety of my other employees"

"So I can return to work?" asked Angelo, disbelievingly.

"Just in time for the wedding" Escalus smiled "You'll be there after all"

"Thank goodness. I thought I was going to have to give up my career and go into hiding somewhere!"

"Don't be daft! I wouldn't fire you. You're the best Deputy I've had. Most of them have been boring old men, years older than me, with absolutely no idea on how to work with me"

"Thank you" Angelo felt like he was soaring. This was the best news he had heard in years! He had his career back! Maybe the biopsy would come back with good news, and then this would be all over! Once he had his health back, and now he had his job back, he would win this election. He'd do whatever it took. And when he won the election, nothing would get in his way. He would do all those things he said he would that he hadn't. It was time to stop being afraid.

* * *

"Fuck!" hissed Amparo, listening on the spy bug in her office "Fuck it!"

"They let him get away with it!" Isabella hissed as well "You were sure of it!"

"I know I was. Fucking..." Amparo cursed.

"And it didn't go public. Escalus kept it confidential"

"Don't worry" said Amparo, thinking fast, and thinking on her feet "We still have cards we can play. If Angelo has a written warning, it means he'd on his last chance. We've kicked the wall, and knocked down the first brick"

"I thought it was so sure. The election is creeping closer. You need time to establish yourself as the leader of the party, and make sure the party is stable, before you can win the election"

"I know that. I need to make it seem that Angelo is the problem, not the party. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Amparo. Are we going to public?"

"We will. I planned too originally, but I had hoped that Escalus would simply get rid of him on his own and break the news himself. But I suppose this means we will have to break the news ourselves...hmm...my sister is a journalist. A science journalist, none the less, but all the same" Amparo reclined in her chair, and turned to look at Isabella "Don't worry, leave the planning to me. I have a card we can play tonight at least"

"And what's that?"

"Mercutio Vincentino's pantomime"

* * *

"Look, they're all out there!" giggled Mercutio, peering between the curtains.

"Oh my God!" whispered Allegra, peering out too.

"Are you nervous, Wally-wegra?"

"Not if you aren't!"

"Then let's begin!"

Hermia, Juliet, Allegra and Mercutio assembled into position. Mercutio cleared his throat and switched on his microphone "Gretchen, swap sides with Cady!"

"But I'm always on your left!" protested Hermia.

"That was when there were three of us, and now the tallest go in the middle"

"The whole dance will be backward! I'm always on your left!"

"And right now you're getting on my last nerve. Switch!"

The curtains opened. Hermia dashed to the front of the dance, and pretended to switch on a cardboard CD player. The quartet began to perform the Mean Girls 'Jingle Bell Rock' dance. Hermia pretended to accidently jostle the CD player after taking a wrong turn in the dance, and the music cut out. She glanced to Mercutio, who nodded. Hermia stepped back, and then launched forward with a kick. The cardboard CD player flew into the audience, flying over Richard and spilling sweets all over him.

"Sweets!" screamed George, running over and grabbing them.

"Richard!" cried Hermia.

Allegra glanced nervously around, before breaking out in song "What a bright time! It's the right time! To rock the night away!"

They continued the dance, until the last note, when they turned around so their backs faced the audience, lifted their skirts to reveal oversized knickers with letters spelling out YORK and a love heart. The audience roared with laughter. They rushed off, waving and bowing.

The curtains closed, and a screen slide down. Gabriel entered the back of the hall, dressed as a fairy, huffing and puffing, and heaving Escalus' throne. The audience gasped as he dragged it along, up the stairs to the stage, and dumped it down at the side of the stage.

"That was heavy. I just unscrewed it and hauled it all the way from the throne room. Hey! Don't boo me! I wanted something comfortable to sit my ass on for two hours! Right" Gabriel paced across "I'm looking for someone. Long beard, long robes, isn't King Duncan, he should be here, ah, here you are! Hello!"

Tybalt entered the back of the hall dressed as Jesus. He wore a strap on brown beard and had wrapped himself up in a bed sheet.

"Sorry about that, I got stuck in traffic. All these people wanted me to cure them"

"Oh, really? It must suck being Jesus – oh, this is Jesus, everyone, by the way. I'm the Angry Drunk Fairy Godmother. I'm going to be sitting over here" Gabriel paced along, and stood in front of the throne, on the right side of the stage, "drinking this," he lifted a bottle of wine "and this side is going to be my side"

"This side is my side" said Tybalt, standing on the left.

"We're here to narrate the play, tell you when to boo and when to aww, so you don't need to use your brains or anything like that. So, what did you think of those dancers?"

"Why were they doing a Christmas dance?" asked Tybalt.

"I don't know, I mean, it's more like summer. But if it IS Christmas, then you know what this means, though, this time of year. Are you ready?" Gabriel turned and grinned at the audience "Happy Birthday to you! Come on, join in!"

"What the fuck is this?" cried Richard.

"Happy Birthday to you – that's right!" Gabriel cheered, as the audience joined in "Happy Birthday to Jesus! Happy Birthday to you – oh, stop, stop! The screens down!"

"You can't just stop singing Happy Birthday halfway through!" whined Tybalt.

"Well, the screens down. You know what this means, don't you? Adverts!"

The screen jerked into life. The young adults had compiled a series of advert parodies. The audience laughed at a so-called 'Nephew-zapper,' a Google search on advert apparently being typed by an ancestor of the Plantagenets, and a diary room, where several of the guests had been invited and asked a series of questions. But, Gabriel had played a trick on them, and changed the question shown in the advert, so instead of being asked 'What is the worst crime?' it seemed that they were being asked...

"What is the worst crime that Edouard of Lancaster commits?"

"Murder!"

"Benefit fraud!"

"Treason!"

The Yorkists roared with laughter. The adverts finished, and the screen rolled up. Romeo entered, dressed as Robin Hood, with Mercutio as Little John, Benvolio, Adam and Balthasar as his Merry Men.

"Aw! It's a bit chilly!" said Mercutio.

"No, Little John, we're in Sherwood Forest, in Nottingham. Didn't your teachers ever teach you that?" replied Romeo.

"No, they sent me to cupboard for talking. Hey guys, have you seen my jumper? I can't find it anywhere"

They were soon interrupted by the sound of a horse and carriage. Hermia, Allegra and Juliet entered, dressed as 'Essex girls' with orange faces and drawn on eyebrows, holding a cardboard cut out of a carriage and a shopping bag.

"Not that it would ever happen, but can you imagine if someone like, jumped our carriage, not that it would ever happen?" asked Hermia, in an exaggerated accent.

"Oh, shut up! That would never happen!" replied Juliet.

"Why would you even say that?!" asked Allegra.

"Jumper!" cried Romeo. The Merry Men rushed across the stage and tied the girls up. They screamed. The audience groaned as the microphones the girls were wearing blipped.

"No, no, not jump her, I meant, jumper!" Romeo grabbed the jumper resting on a tree prop.

"Oh" said the Merry Men. A police siren blasted.

"The gavvers! The old plod! The pigs!" yelled the Merry Men. Theobald, Ricardo and Petruchio entered the stage, dressed as policemen with pig noses.

"Hey! I know you!" shouted Mercutio "I saw you on that Uniform Dating Dot Com!"

"If you work in uniform, or don't, or just fancy those who do, or don't, then you should go to Uniform Dating Dot Com. Or don't" said Tybalt, mimicking the advert.

"It's KingEd04!"

The audience laughed, recalling Edward's profile. Elizabeth's eyes flashed.

"Officers, these women just tried to jump us in an unPG manner, so you should take them away before any boys get corruptive sinful urges" said Romeo.

"Oh, right" mumbled one of the police men "Let's just go, quickly!"

The girls left with the police pig men. After deciding to give the goods they stole from the Essex girls to the poor, the curtains closed and the scene ended.

"You know, however loses the War of the Roses, instead of, you know, executing them or anything, I think they should be made the Duke of Essex" remarked Gabriel.

"Yeah, or the Duke of Newcastle! Duke of the Geordies!" added Tybalt. There was some laughter, and then Mercutio re-entered the stage.

"Do you want to hear some jokes?" he grinned demonically.

"No!" shouted Edouard.

"Shut up!" Mercutio shouted back "Anyway, knock knock!"

"Who's there?" groaned the audience.

"Dickon!" replied Mercutio.

"This better not be about me" muttered Richard.

"Dickon who?"

"Dick on the loose!" Mercutio grabbed a banana from his pocket and threw it at the Lancasters. They shrieked in disgust. Mercutio left the stage, and it opened on a bar. At the back, Juliet and Livia were dancing to club music.

"Most of the people that come to these variety shows are idiots" said Benvolio, as he and the Merry Men entered.

"What?" asked Romeo.

"Most of the people that come to these variety shows are idiots!" Benvolio repeated, louder.

"What?" asked Romeo.

"I said, all of the people are idiots!" yelled Benvolio, as the music cut out.

"Awkward!" sang Gabriel.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" boomed Tybalt "Boys and girls! Scottish and French! Danes and Italians! Yorkists and Lancasters, _and_ Henry Tudor, we welcome, for one night, and one night only, we promise that you'll never have to sit through this shit again, Nicki Minaj and the Seven Pimps!"

Beatrix strutted onstage, wearing disgusting leopard print leggings, pink boots and a leotard. Stuffed down the back of her leggings were several pillows. The audience roared with laughter. Her 'pimps' followed on, and they all started to dance to 'Super Bass' until they were interrupted by Snow White, played by Allegra.

"Er, what are you doing on my stage?" demanded Beatrix.

"No one wants to hear you screeching 'You a stupid hoe' especially with all the precious royals in the crowd!"

"Er, did they just call your name back there? I don't think so. Get off my stage!"

"I have a right to be here. I am Snow White! The epic story of my life can be transformed into a pantomime AND a ballet. Isn't that right, Gabriel?"

"She is right" nodded Gabriel.

"Seeing as this is a pantomime, I hereby challenge you to a dance off!"

"A dance off it is! MULAN!"

Hermia marched onstage, dressed as Mulan. 'I'll Make A Man Out Of You' began to play, and Hermia pretended to swipe at Beatrix with a broom. The music soon changed to 'Pound the Alarm' Beatrix waggled her padded butt at Hermia, and then at the audience. The music changed to a grimy dubstep beat and the whole cast leapt onstage, breaking it down, Tybalt and Gabriel included. Richard groaned. Eventually, Beatrix was beaten as Hermia shoved her off the stage and onto a mattress.

"Meh" remarked Gabriel "Jesus, can you deal with the dead body?"

Tybalt got up, and dragged Beatrix backstage by the ankles.

"Urgh, I think I need to scrub my eyes out with bleach" said Benvolio, coming back onstage.

"I mean yeah, that was awky, and cringey. Damn, I'd have rather seen Rosaline out there, shaking her thang!" replied Mercutio.

"Shut up! That's my wife!" yelled Tybalt. Gabriel held up an 'Oooh!' sign.

"Yeah, it's a bit rude!" said Benvolio "What did you think of that, Robin?"

"I should have been singing" snivelled Romeo.

"Wait, what?" asked Mercutio.

"Seeing those idiots dance like that for attention...I should have sung for a cause I believe in"

"Like what?" asked Benvolio.

"Marian...Maid Marian"

"She wasn't a maid when you finished with her!" jeered Mercutio.

"Oooh!" went the audience, with Gabriel and Tybalt's direction.

"So it's decided!" declared Romeo "We shall go and rescue my Maid Marian at once!"

The scene finished, and then the curtains opened on Rosaline as the Sheriff of Nottingham, with her Evil Crew played by the Capulet boys, Theobald, Ricardo, Petruchio, Sam, Greg, and her sister Livia.

"Ahhh, my friends, now the hostage is secure, let us proceed in yet another evil scheme!" announced Rosaline.

"What shall we do this time, Sheriff?" asked Livia.

"We could quote from Mean Girls 2!" exclaimed Ricardo.

"Put him in the corner of shame" instructed Rosaline. After discovering that Robin Hood and his Merry Men were on their way to the castle, taking the bait of Maid Marian's capture, the Evil Crew left to set up a lookout. The Merry Men entered, sneaking into the castle.

"Urgh, it stinks in here!" exclaimed Mercutio.

"I can smell Marian's perfume!" Romeo cried passionately.

"What, that rotting smell?" asked Balthasar.

"Yes!" beamed Romeo. He spun around "Marian!"

Hermia strutted across the stage, in a skimpy outfit, followed by Allegra, Livia, Rosaline herself, and then Juliet, and then...

"ROBIN!" screamed Hamlet.

"Marian!" cried Romeo "Wait, no, stop! Are you wearing leggings as trousers?"

"Yes?" said Hamlet.

"Gabriel Fulgencio does that. WHY are you doing it?"

"But aren't you all wearing tights?" protested Hamlet.

"Tights are for the panto. Leggings are for morally questionable girls!" cursed Mercutio "Or gender confused boys"

"Fine, I'll go and get changed" sighed Hamlet.

"Moral lesson for you all" said Romeo, coming to the front of the stage "Leggings are not trousers. Gabriel!"

"Piss off" retorted Gabriel.

"It is true though" said Tybalt. The audience 'ooohed' and Gabriel stuck up his middle finger.

"Isn't she beautiful?" said Romeo, turning to his Merry Men.

"Robin, what the hell has gotten into you? SHE'S A MAN!" said Benvolio.

"Who wears leggings as trousers" said Adam disgustedly.

"She's getting changed, give her a chance!"

Hamlet re-entered, wearing Macbeth's kilt as a skirt. There was some laughter.

"Oh my God! I love your skirt. Where did you get it?" asked Gabriel.

"Oh, it was my mum's in the eighties"

"Vintage. So adorable" Gabriel turned to the audience "That is the ugliest effing skirt I have ever seen"

Eventually they were caught by the sheriff, and ran through the castle. Just as the curtains were about to close, Benvolio popped his head around the corner and tapped Gabriel "Um, we haven't had the morally questionable women's dance"

"What? No! No, we are not doing it!" shouted Gabriel.

"But they're all ready backstage, they want to do it, they've-"

"No! No, we're not doing it! I'm Jesus Christ, and if I see half-naked babes on my stage then I'll-" Tybalt started to rant.

"God forgive me, ladies, out you come!" wailed Benvolio, running off.

As 'Lady Marmalade' began to play, Hermia, Juliet, Rosaline, the other girls, and then Mercutio in drag entered.

"No!" screamed Gabriel "Nooooo!"

As the girls threw off their jackets, revealing skimpy outfits, and began to dance, there was a loud cheer from the side of the hall where Edward and his court sat. On the other side, Edouard yelled "SLUTS!"

"Oi! Don't make comments about my woman!" Tybalt yelled back, aiming at him with a water gun.

"Yeah, those are my sisters!" shouted Gabriel, aiming as well.

Eventually, they tossed down their water guns, got up and began to join in with the dance. Beatrix, still wearing her Nicki Minaj outfit with the pillows stuffed down the back of her leggings, strutted across the back of the stage. The audience were gobsmacked. Anne giggled. Banquo shook his head whilst Fleance goggled. Richard moaned and sank his head in his hands. These Italians were mad!

After they escaped from the castle, the Sheriff launched a search party. Robin Hood and his Merry Men escaped through Sherwood Forest, stumbling on the set of the Jeremy Kyle show.

"Hi, and welcome to the Jeremy Kyle show!" announced Mercutio, having changed into a suit and bow tie "Today, we have the Earl of Warwick and King Edward IV. They're currently fighting in the Wars of the Roses because the Earl of Warwick helped King Edward become king, and then got mad at him for, in his own words, marrying a slut, and blocking him on Facebook. So, let's get them both on the show"

The audience looked confused. Theobald and Ricardo marched out, wearing black suits and black glasses, and nodded at Edward to get up on the stage. Baffled, Edward walked onstage and sat down on one of the chairs. The Earl took a little more persuading, but eventually, he sat down.

"So, King Ed, what do you have to say to this?" Mercutio bent down by Edward and shoved a microphone under his nose.

"He shouldn't have instagrammed all his food, that's what I'm saying!"

The audience burst out laughing.

"You're no better! You kept on tagging all the places you visited! Namely, brothels!"

"What a LAD!" shouted Tybalt into his microphone. The audience roared with laughter.

"All right! Calm down!" shouted Mercutio "So, Warwick, what do you have to say to this?"

"He married this woman, who he didn't even introduce to me until after they were married, in secret, and he didn't invite me to the Stag Do! That just violates all the rules of the Bro Code!"

"And the LAD Bible!" added Gabriel.

"You've read it?" asked Tybalt.

"Well, yes" replied Gabriel.

"You're no LAD, you haven't even got a beard!"

"Fuck you" retorted Gabriel.

"All right, all right! Calm down!" said Mercutio "So, Warwick, why did you decide to betray your friend, even if he did break the rules of the Bro Code, and the LAD Bible?"

"Because he broke them!"

"But isn't joining sides with his worst enemy a bit extreme?"

"No!"

"Yes, it is! I wouldn't have done it to you!" retorted Edward.

"Oooh!" went the audience.

"Settle down!" shouted Mercutio "So, it's time to meet another one of our guests. Let's get Maggie on the show"

"Her name's Margaret" said Gabriel.

"She likes it when I call her Maggie. But, for the sake of simplicity, let's get Margaret of Anjou on the show. Oooh, that rhymed"

Margaret stormed up on the stage, grabbed a chair, and dragged it as far away from Edward as possible.

"So, Maggie, what do you have to say to this?"

"He's a usurper and he deserves everything he gets!"

"Oooh!" went the audience.

"And I don't like it when you call me Maggie!"

"Hahaha!" went the audience.

"I have a stronger claim to the throne" said Edward "And your husband's a nutter"

"Oooh!"

"All right!" said Mercutio "So, you might have a better claim to the throne, but to discriminate against a person with mental health issues is just plain wrong, and if you're such a good king like you claim to be, then you shouldn't do it!"

"Yeah!" shouted the audience.

"He called me a bastard!" protested Edward "And his son stole my brother's girlfriend, who has been his childhood sweetheart since, like, forever, and then Edouard gets his twelve year old cousin to call him nasty names like hunchback, and spread stupid rumours about him!"

"Well, it seems to me, there has been crime on both sides" said Mercutio "So now, let's get some more guests on the show! Please give it up for Richard, and Edouard!"

Richard and Edouard were dragged onstage. Edouard sat next to his mother, and Richard sat between Edward and Warwick.

"What do you have to say to this?" asked Mercutio, shoving the microphone under Richard's nose.

"Well, I don't like this warring more than the next person. I'm loyal to Edward because he's my brother, and even if I don't approve of the decisions he makes in his life, I have to support him. But I grew up with Warwick after the Lancasters killed my father. I wish things could just go how they were before, but...they can't"

"Awww!" went the audience.

"Edouard. What do you have to say to this?"

"I don't care what he wants, I'm the prince, and I'm going to kill all the Yorkist pretenders!"

"Boo!" yelled the audience.

"See! He's a maniac! He'll never be a good king!" shouted Edward.

"That's enough! This arguing is becoming un-_bear_-able!" shouted Mercutio.

At the back of the stage, two of the cast members carried across a picture of the Neville family sigil – the bear and staff! Most of the audience laughed.

"I know, it's so _boar_-ing" said Gabriel. Hermia walked onstage, dressed as a whore "I said BOAR!"

Thor from the Avengers walked onstage.

"I said BOAR! Are you deaf!" yelled Gabriel. Richard's white boar was finally carried across "That's better!"

"What a load of _bull-_shit" Tybalt shook his head. George's black bull was carried across.

"_Cat_ is really harsh" remarked Mercutio, and the Capulet's family wild cat was carried across.

"Ouch. _Hawk_-ward" said one of the bodyguards. Hermia and Thor re-entered "Really?"

"I just wanted the attention!" shrieked Hermia, running offstage.

"I guess you could say she's an attention whore. Har har har" cackled Gabriel.

Romeo and his gang walked onstage "If anyone comes through here, tell them we weren't here"

"Excuse me, you're interrupting the show" said Mercutio.

"Well, it is our pantomime"

"Yeah, but this is my show!"

"That happens to be in MY pantomime!"

"Stop it! Calm down!" yelled Tybalt. Two of the bodyguards walked onstage, and separated Robin Hood and Jeremy Kyle. Robin Hood and his Merry Men left.

"So, Edouard. Edward claims you stole Richard's girlfriend and married her. Is this true?"

"Yeah, but I was made to. I don't even like her!"

"Boo!" yelled the audience.

"So, if you didn't like her, why did you marry her?" asked Mercutio.

"I said, because I was made to!" snapped Edouard "He can have her if he wants"

"Ah, actually, you shouldn't talk about women like they're property, it goes against feminism" interrupted Mercutio "Now, let's get Anne on the show!"

Anne walked up, and sat beside her father.

"Anne, what do you have to say about this?"

"I think it was mean of Edward to get married and not tell my dad, but he could have stopped this whole fiasco by just sending him a card saying 'I'm sorry' and a box of chocolates"

The audience laughed again.

"And what do you think about being made to marry Edouard?"

Anne narrowed her eyes at Edouard. This was her chance to get her revenge. Screw the Lancasters. Screw the alliance.

"I don't really like him very much to be honest"

"Oooh!" went the audience.

"He killed my kitten"

"Boo!"

"And he bullies Henry Tudor"

"Boo!"

"And none of the Italian girls I've met would have put up with it. I mean, Juliet said, rather than be made to marry someone she didn't love, she would have faked being dead, and Hermia said she'd run off with her boyfriend in a forest. I think I should have done one of the two"

The audience cheered.

"Well, good, because as soon as I'm king I'm going to divorce you and get a better wife!" yelled Edouard.

"Well, good, because then I can have her back, you girlfriend-stealing-"

"No, you won't! You'll be dead because I'll have killed you!"

"Right, that's enough!" cried Mercutio "Well, that's all we've got time for on the show today. Next week, we have Desdemona and Othello on the show. Last Christmas, I gave you my handkerchief, but the very next day, you gave it away"

The guests were waved off the stage dumbfoundedly. The curtains closed. Mercutio changed back into his Little John outfit, and rejoined the Merry Men to walk through the forest, until they were captured again by the Sheriff.

"No!" shouted Romeo "You cannot capture my men! If you want to capture us, you have to defeat us in dance! For I challenge you to a dance off!"

"A dance off it is! Go on boys!" instructed Rosaline.

The boys cheered "Come on, Tybalt, drop the Jesus act, let's capture these outlaws!"

"Can I join in, I love dancing!" shrieked Gabriel.

"And me!" Mercutio shrieked. The boys formed a line, and began the 'Boys Dance' The audience screamed and cheered as 'Sexy And I Know It' started to play. The dancers circled around Mercutio and pulled off his shirt. The audience roared with laughter as the rest of the boys ripped off their shirts and threw them at the audience.

"We win!" declared Rosaline "Now, we shall take you to Prince John!"

For the final scene, the curtains opened. Juliet as Prince John marched along the stage, and scowled at Gabriel. Gabriel stood up, and offered her Escalus' throne. Juliet nodded, and then Gabriel shuffled it towards her. Juliet nodded expectantly, and Gabriel dragged it across the stage, to the centre. Gabriel bowed mockingly low as she sat down, and then stuck his middle finger up and walked off to share Tybalt's seat.

"Sheriff! My old friend!" greeted Juliet.

"Prince John! My dear friend! I've brought you a present! Robin Hood!"

"You captured him! My dear friend, you must be in want of a reward!"

"Why thank you, Prince John!"

"Yes, you'll become, Master of Torture! You'll be able to stretch Robin Hood until his bone joints pop out!"

"You're evil!" cried Romeo.

"Yes. Yes we are" said Juliet "And the best bit? I can do whatever I want, for I am Prince John, King of England!"

"If you call yourself Prince John, how the fuck are you King of England?" asked Gabriel "Oh, wait, don't worry. Edouard has the same problem"

The audience roared with laughter as Edouard turned red with rage.

"Shut your mouth, ballerina! I am King of England if I want to be!"

"Actually, I'm King of England!"

The audience cheered as Hermia walked onstage wearing a Hawaii shirt and a crown.

"Richard! You came back from your gap year!" gasped Juliet.

"Yes, I'm back. For those of you who don't remember me, I am King Richard the Lionheart, the rightful King of England. But you guys can call me King Dick!"

"Hey! What about me!" Allegra dressed as Geoffrey ran onstage "I'm Prince Geoffrey everyone!"

"Geoff, shut up. You're a middle child. No one cares about you"

"I hate being a middle child!" wailed Allegra, stomping offstage.

"Tell me about it" said Gabriel. The audience laughed.

"Now" said Hermia "Guards. Take Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham away, strap them in front of a TV set, and make them watch Mean Girls 2 on repeat"

"Thank you so much, King Dick!" cried Romeo, falling to his knees in front of Hermia.

"It was no problem, my friend. And if any of you boys, and err, girls" said Hermia, looking at Hamlet "need my help again, let me know"

"Oh, I think we'll be all right. Marian, I must introduce you to my parents"

"Actually, Robin, I think we need to talk"

"Oh"

"I've got something to tell you" said Hamlet "I'm a man!"

Romeo shrieked.

"But I'm also gay!"

"Well...if you're gay...maybe I'm gay too!"

"Well, if you're gay, and I'm gay, maybe we can make this thing work!"

"Yes, oh Marian, I love you!"

"My name's actually Dave"

"Nobody's perfect!"


	13. Old Friends, Old Foes

RichardIII1955 - Thanks! Most of those are my favourite lines too! 'I guess you could say she's an attention whore. Har har har'

Uh oh! I have a feeling that someone's going to be in trouble! Poor naughty Mercutio! And, Gabriel's old best friend Juno makes an appearance, as well as an old antagonist...

* * *

"MERCUTIO VINCENTINO!" screamed Escalus "HOW DARE YOU!"

The sound echoed around the palace. Edouard snickered to himself. The Italians who had performed the pantomime were all in massive trouble. Edouard was thrilled to bits. They'd made fun of him, and now they were getting what they deserved.

"Hear that, wife?" he said to Anne, as she huddled over a book "Lunatic Mercutio is getting what he deserves. They should lock him up in a mental institution"

"You can't say that! What about your father?" she protested.

"What about my father?" snapped Edouard "What has he got to do with anything?"

"Nothing, your grace"

"What's the matter? Don't you like my father?"

"I do, your grace!"

"Are you lying?"

"No!"

"What about me, then? Do you like me?"

Anne suddenly glared at him, those soft brown eyes suddenly hard "No, and I never have"

"What did you say?" seethed Edouard, standing up to tower over her. The fear came back. He saw it in the way she quivered. The way her eyes went wide and round.

"I-I didn't mean to...I-I was joking...I was just..."

Edouard snatched the book from her and slapped her around the face with it. She cried out in pain and sagged against the sofa. Suddenly, she stood up "I'm going to tell Lady Juliet and Hermia you did this!"

"Tell them what you want. Tell all the Italians. It's a message, from me, about what happens, when you displease your king!"

"You're no king, you have to earn that title" Anne was out of the door before he could stop her. Edouard sniffed, and then settled down to listen to some more of Escalus' rantings.

Anne hurried along outside. Most of the Italian teenagers were inside being told off along with Mercutio, but Hermia and Juliet were outside, perched beside a paddling pool. Eliseo shrieked and squealed delightedly, splashing Hermia in the process.

"Eliseo, you devil" said Hermia "Why is it, I always end up wetter than you are whenever you're in water, and I'm not?"

"Ciao" said Anne, using one of the few Italians phrases she had learnt.

"Ciao!" the girls replied.

"Cha!" Eliseo giggled, splashing Hermia again.

"Eliseo!"

"Is Gabriel here to translate?" asked Anne, sitting down beside them.

Juliet shook her head "Gabriel work"

"What work does he do?"

"He dance ballet" said Hermia, mimicking some movements. Anne and Juliet giggled.

"You see him tonight. You see ballet tonight" added Juliet. Eliseo splashed again "Eliseo!"

"He's cute! Is he yours?"

"Eliseo mine" said Hermia, proudly. She kissed his damp curls "My baby"

"Mummy" said Eliseo.

"I liked the pantomime yesterday, by the way" Anne smiled shyly.

"Grazie!" Hermia grinned "You like my dance?"

"Si! You were very funny!"

"Mercutio in trouble now" said Juliet. One of the palace windows was open, and some of what was being said could be heard.

"Angelo let me do it!" protested Mercutio "I didn't know any better! Angelo said it was ok! Honestly!"

"Angelo would never do that!"

"Yes, he would! He emailed you about it! He showed us the email when he sent it. Check your email if you don't believe me. It's all Angelo's fault, Uncle Es!"

"Angelo in trouble" Hermia raised her eyebrows.

"Good. I like him not" said Juliet "He treat Gabriel bad, and make Gabriel bad person – Anne, you hurt!"

She leant forwards, and looked at Anne's cheek. Anne felt it reddening as blood flushed to her face.

"Hermia, look!"

"Someone slap you?" asked Hermia "I slap them back!"

"I wish" sighed Anne.

"Who slap?" demanded Hermia.

"It was..." Anne broke into a whisper. One half of her was terrified. She knew what happened when she displeased the Lancasters, and how fraught the alliance between her family and theirs was. But the other half willed her to act. She was in Italy, and as far as she could see, no one tolerated Edouard here. Mercutio called him names and blew raspberries at him whenever he could. Gabriel laughed at him behind his back and spread rumours that were even more ridiculous than the ones spread by Henry Tudor about Richard. Hermia openly laughed in his face and made her distaste for him pretty clear. Even Escalus, who, as the sovereign of Verona, should remain neutral, saw fit to chastise Edouard every now and then.

"It was Edouard. I told him I didn't like him"

"And he hit you?" said Hermia, disgust in her voice.

"Si, yes"

"Then I hit him!"

"Hit!" shrieked Eliseo, splashing. This time, Anne got a bit wet too, but she didn't mind. It would dry in the sunlight.

"You can't. He's a prince"

"And? When Mercutio is seven, he puke on President" Hermia was climbing to her feet, when she saw Lord Capulet, her and Juliet's father, walking towards them. He looked unhappy.

"There's dad" said Juliet, in her native tongue. Hermia sat back down.

"Well, why's he coming over here? I thought he had to work today"

"Exactly. He told us if we wanted to come over here today we had to wait outside because Merc was being told off and he was working"

When Lord Capulet approached them, he gave a small strained smile.

"Granda!" shouted Eliseo, reaching up.

"Hi, dad" said Hermia "This is Lady Anne Neville. Anne, this my father, Lord Capulet"

"Hello" said Lord Capulet stiffly, his eyes never straying away from Hermia. He addressed her in his native tongue "I need to have a word with you"

"Is it about the Slut Dance? I wasn't responsible, Gabe choreographed it, and then Rosaline said it was ok, and if _our precious Rosaline_ said it was ok, then-"

"It's not about that. It's something else. Come" Lord Capulet lifted Hermia to her feet. Juliet watched suspiciously as they wandered further off in the gardens. They weren't the only people in the gardens. The Yorkists and their supporters were there, along with some of the people they had befriended in the past few days. Rosaline was once again sitting with Queen Elizabeth and Lady Macbeth, but this time, she knelt on the floor beside Elizabeth's feet. Elizabeth stroked her fingers through her hair. Rosaline was smiling, so Juliet knew that Elizabeth had called her beautiful. Her eyes drifted back to her half-sister and her father. Beside her, Anne watched as well. Eliseo tipped a bucket of water out of the paddling pool and onto the flowers, but neither of them noticed.

Lord Capulet spoke gently to Hermia. He looked unhappy, but not angry. He looked stern, but he was gently squeezing Hermia's shoulder. Hermia looked up at him, and then wordlessly wrapped her arms around him. Lord Capulet hugged her back, and kissed the top of her red hair.

They stayed like that for a while, until they began to walk back to the palace.

"What is it?" asked Anne.

"I do not know" replied Juliet "Hermia!"

Lord Capulet supported Hermia back to the paddling pool, where Eliseo, blissfully ignorant to whatever was going on, crowed with joy to see his mum again.

"What's the matter?" asked Juliet. She could see tears welling in Hermia's green eyes, and she knew that Hermia was fighting to stop them from falling.

"It's...it's Demetrius" Hermia whispered.

"What about him? You don't need to fear him, we locked him up, we-"

"No" Hermia shook her head "The evidence against him wasn't enough. They're letting him out. He's on the loose. He'll come for me now. That's the first thing he'll do. He'll come for me"

* * *

The publicist that the PR company had sent him was the same age as Gabriel. He had attended the same school, had been in the same class, same social group. He was, as a matter of fact, Gabriel's ex best friend, Juno Nightingale.

He looked practically the same but for the smart suit in place of skinny black jeans and black sheer blouse. His hair was black and cut to frame his face, and he had the same large round brown eyes and soft skin. He watched Angelo warily, as if Angelo was about to hurl accusations at him.

"So...how are those other two friends of yours?" asked Angelo.

"Ceres and Iris? Oh, they're fine" replied Juno "Iris is at fashion college, and Ceres is studying art"

"Oh. I hadn't heard much of them since Gabriel...you boys all fell out"

Juno blushed.

"I don't blame you. Gabe is an idiot"

"He doesn't like being called Gabe" Juno fiddled with his neat nails "I went to see him dance the other night. He was good – really good. Have you seen him yet?"

"I haven't, no. I've never seen him dance"

Juno looked surprised. Angelo didn't know the full extent of which Gabriel would tell his friends about him, but from Juno's expression he had presumed that Angelo had somewhat grudgingly watched him dance, at least once in his life.

"He's never come to any of my political rallies" said Angelo, as if to justify it. Still, Juno looked shocked. Angelo considered it for a moment. Juno's father was a lawyer, and whilst they had been different, there had not seemed to be any kind of barrier or separation between them. There had been days when Gabriel and Angelo had gone without speaking, even whilst living in the same house. Angelo would busy himself in his study, working on bills, whilst Gabriel busied himself in his music room, playing his piano. Occasionally Angelo would hear him sing, but then he'd shut the door and blot the noise out.

Why was that? Why had it gone wrong? Where had Angelo failed? It had started off ok. He hadn't been there for the birth, but when he arrived a few hours later, he had picked him up and cuddled him, and rocked him when he cried. He had curled up on the hospital bed with his new wife and new son, and they'd felt so close, and now it was like this?

Juno delicately moved a strand of black hair from out of his eyes "So, what kind of image would like to present to the public?"

"The one I presented last election seemed to work"

"It won't anymore. It's been five years and you're older. Now you're fifty two you won't be able to-"

"I'm fifty two?!" spluttered Angelo.

"Yeah, Gabriel told us you were fifty about two years ago"

"I'm forty seven!" choked Angelo.

"Oh!" Juno blushed "Well, sorry about that"

"What else has he told you about me?" demanded Angelo.

"Um...that you snore, and you have grey hair, and you're a womanizing perv"

"I am none of those things!" snapped Angelo "I don't snore, it's Gabriel who talks in his sleep. Well. When he does sleep. Maybe I have some grey hairs, but I dye it. And I'm not a womanizing perv! I like to flirt. That's it"

"Ok" Juno seemed to wilt under Angelo's gaze.

"Are you sure this is going to work with you as my publicist if all you've ever heard are lies about me from my stupid son?"

"I didn't believe them all. You know what Gabriel is like. He once accused the PE teacher of setting up cameras in the changing room and wiring them to the TV in the PE office and watching us get changed. But I never saw any cameras. And one time, he said you slapped him around the face. I didn't believe that. I know you don't like each other much, but, you just wouldn't slap your kid around the face, would you?"

Angelo sighed, and rubbed his face with his hand. All these lies, all these rumours...what was true, and what was false?

"This is no good. Let's make a fresh start" said Angelo "Let's get to know each other from our own perspectives, instead of through that brat. We'll talk about what image I'll send to the public"

"Ok" said Juno, obviously relieved. He pulled out a pen and paper pad "Tell me about yourself"

Angelo opened his mouth, but the door barged open. Escalus looked angry, and he was dragging Mercutio by the scruff of his neck.

"Angelo, tell me the truth of this. Did you tell Mercutio it was ok to perform that disgusting pantomime to the guests?"

"No. I didn't watch it all. I was...suspended" he cringed.

"Suspended?" Juno gasped, scribbling it down on his pad.

"Stop that!" hissed Angelo "It's confidential!"

"So you didn't go on holiday after all!" declared Mercutio.

"No – I mean, yes! I was on holiday!"

"I don't care!" snapped Escalus, unusually angry "I want to get to the truth of this! Did you tell Mercutio it was ok to perform the pantomime as it was last night?"

"No!" cried Angelo.

"Yes, he did! He emailed you and told you! Check your email if you don't believe me" sulked Mercutio.

"I'll check my outbox" said Angelo "I sent no such email"

He got to work at his computer. Escalus' eyes turned to Juno.

"And who's this?"

"Juno Nightingale. My new publicist" replied Angelo, searching through his emails.

"Oh, Gabriel's dog!" exclaimed Mercutio "Where's your master?"

Juno's round brown eyes widened.

"Give it a rest, Mercutio. I'm in no mood for your stupid jibes" Escalus shook his head "Margaret of Anjou is furious about all the Edouard jokes, and Queen Elizabeth is angry about Edward's Uniform Dating profile being mentioned, and they're both furious about the Jeremy Kyle show. Macbeth wants his kilt back, and he's insulted about Gabriel calling it the ugliest effing skirt he's ever seen"

"It was a quote! From Mean Girls! Blame Tina Fey!" protested Mercutio "And Gabriel said it, not me. His parts and Tybalt's parts were unscripted. You should tell Angelo off for having such a naughty son"

"Gabriel is not my responsibility. He is an adult" said Angelo coldly "And no, I can't seem to find this email anywhere"

Mercutio darted forwards, and grabbed the laptop. He searched through Angelo's outbox "There it is!"

Angelo peered at it "I did not send that!"

Escalus looked at it "Well, how else did it get there? I asked you to supervise, and I asked you to make sure it was appropriate. I trusted you!"

"I did not send it!" Angelo almost shouted "I fell asleep! I did not watch the panto and I did not send the email. I'm...I'm being set up! For everything!"

"Do you know what kind of trouble I'm in, Angelo? We've offended over half of Europe's royal courts and our alliances are going down the drain. The press is going wild. People are calling us bad parents for letting the kids get away with-"

"We're not kids, I'm an adult. I'm twenty!" protested Mercutio.

"So why don't you act it?"

"Because then I'd be like you. Old, saggy, wrinkly, ugly, boring..."

"That's enough, Mercutio" Escalus seethed "All I can say is, thank God for Amparo. That woman is a blessing. She's pacified the Scottish by pointing out that Hamlet, who isn't part of our royal court, was the one who stole Macbeth's kilt, and Gabriel, who's lines were unscripted and quoted from a film, was the one to call it ugly"

"That's what I said!" protested Mercutio "Why is everyone sucking up to Amparo all of a sudden? Have you all turned into Gabriels? It's all, 'Amparo this, Amparo that, blah blah, guess what Amparo's done, yadda yadda!'"

_'Tell me about it'_ thought Angelo miserably _'That used to be my praises they sang'_

"Well, I'm going to sort out the French. They're still angry about the frog jokes and the snails being thrown in the audience. As well as that, I've got the Snails Protection Society complaining about mistreatment of snails. Jesus Christ, they're only snails. These charities get stupider and stupider as they come..." Escalus stormed off. Mercutio grinned, and danced out the room. Angelo groaned and sank with his head on his desk.

"Don't worry, Mr. Gabriel's dad" said Juno kindly "I can make anyone look good. Even if they wear thongs and fishnet tights...like Gabriel does"


	14. The Wedding

RichardIII1955 - They have indeed! Mercutio really knows how to cause trouble! Naughty naughty boy!

It's the wedding! So, what is everyone wearing? And what antics will Mercutio get up too? After all, it's IMPOSSIBLE for him to sit still! Plus, we meet some more of the Fulgencios, and a surprise guest arrives...

* * *

Gabriel adjusted the deep plum trouser suit Amparo had selected for the wedding. He lined up all the buttons, and then pinned onto her breast a little brooch of a swallow. He helped her slick back her hair from it's usual wild mess of curls into a fashionable side bun, set off with a clip on hair cosage that matched her suit. As for Gabriel himself, Amparo had made sure he behaved himself with his fashion choice. He was wearing a charcoal grey suit, his platinum blond locks were loose and cascaded down his shoulders freely. He wore simple diamond earrings, a silver locket necklace with a picture of Alexei inside under his clothes, and a simple silver bangle. The chauffeur arrived to drive them to the church, which was another point in Amparo's favour. It meant that Gabriel couldn't offer to drive and then speed and swerve all over the place, as he usually did.

There were crowds of Veronese outside of the church. The traffic grew slow as the car approached. The car stopped, and then the chauffeur stood up and let her and Gabriel out. Alexei was with them too, wearing a baby sized suit. He looked like a miniature Gabriel. The crowds cheered at the sight of the young female politician, who seemed to be the light of the future of Angelo's crumbling party. Amparo turned to wave at the crowds, smiling gently. Gabriel waved too, and then waved Alexei's tiny little fist. The crowd awwed as the chauffeur drove away.

Once inside, they took the chance to have a good look at everyone. The church was going to be packed. It was a large church, but nowhere near as large as a cathedral, and would therefore be a problem in fitting everyone in. However, it was Verona's oldest and most famous. Traditionally, anyone of any kind of importance was married here. There were seats placed at the back of the hall behind the pews to squeeze in extra guests, and even though only a few groups of the guests had arrived so far, it was already far fuller than during a regular Sunday service. The Scottish were wearing traditional kilts, and Lady Macbeth looked glamorous in a long dark green dress, which she had matched with emerald jewellery. Both of these complimented her long black hair and bewitching green eyes. Macbeth seemed to have reclaimed his kilt from Hamlet, who sat wearing all black with the Danish court. Lady Ophelia perched beside him wearing a light pink dress, decorated with ruffles to look like cherry blossom. She looked quite pretty. It was a shame Hamlet looked so miserable. King Claudius and Queen Gertrude were both smiling and greeting acquaintances, as if nothing were wrong.

The Yorkists had also arrived, sitting in seats deliberating on the other side of the church to the Lancasters. Queen Elizabeth looked marvellous in an embroided silver silk dress that finished with a fishtail hemline trailing behind her. The Yorkist brothers all looked very handsome in their regal clothes, and Richard's white boar gleamed in the light. Meanwhile, Edward and Elizabeth's daughters looked sweet in frilly girly frocks of blue, pink, and lilac.

As for the Italian noble families, the Capulets had arrived. As was custom, the families were wearing the colours of their emblem. Juliet wore a pretty cream dress suit with a pleated skirt. This was artful, as she conformed to the colours of her house, without wearing red, orange or yellow, which would have clashed horribly with her ginger hair. She complimented this dress with a matching hat, pearl earrings, a pearl bracelet, and a gold necklace with the Capulet family emblem on. Lord Capulet wore a black suit, but with a red tie and Tybalt wore the same. Rosaline surprised Amparo. She was wearing a satin ice blue dress, which brought out the ice blue of her eyes, with diamond earrings, a diamond bracelet, and a silver necklace with the emblem of the extinct Oftmoro family. The Oftmoros had lost their money, their ancestral home, their reputation when Rosaline was barely a toddler. After the death of her grandfather, they were extinct in the male line. The two remaining daughters, Camilla and Cordelia, had married themselves off and left their family behind. Why Rosaline was now wearing the ancestral necklace and jewellery mystified Amparo. But it was also good. She was assuming her own identity, rather than taking on the Capulets. Regina wore a sunny yellow suit with a necklace like Juliet's, and she clucked and fussed over Tybalt, smoothing his hair and adjusting his tie. Tybalt looked unimpressed. The other Capulets boys matched Tybalt and Lord Capulet, and sniggered at Regina. Tybalt glared at them, and they were silenced.

The Montagues were sitting nearby. Romeo, Benvolio and Hermia were leaning over and chatting to Juliet. Hermia wore neither the colours of the Montague or Capulet family. She surprised Amparo by wearing a dusky nude pink dress, as Hermia was known to dislike pink. Like Juliet, she wore pearls, and a gold necklace. Most of the Montague men wore black suits, and ties which conformed to their house colours of green, blue and purple. Even little Eliseo was wearing a similar toddler sized suit. As usual, he was up to mischief, poking and prodding his Great-Uncle Claudio until he turned around and pulled a face at him. Lady Montague wore periwinkle blue, and looked much younger than she really was. Romeo stood out in a dark navy suit, and looked very handsome, and very much the Montague heir. Unlike her family, Beatrix wore a bright pink dress embedded with sequins, and looked absolutely horrible, but that didn't surprise Amparo.

The royal family and Helena's family had yet to arrive. Amparo led Gabriel to the seats they had been designated, which were occupied by several important, but non-noble, members of Verona. Angelo was already sitting there. He actually looked quite good, in spite of the recent stresses in his life. He wore a navy suit, with a light blue tie, showing off his recent weight loss. His dark brown hair was parted and slicked back neatly. But, nothing could detract from his pale skin and purple bags under his dark eyes.

Amparo made sure Gabriel sat well away from his father. They often quarrelled about religion, and so to sit them together in church was a bad idea. Angelo hated Gabriel's Wiccan beliefs, and Gabriel hated Angelo's lack-lustre Catholicism. Gabriel sat down well away from Angelo, and perched Alexei on his lap. Alexei looked like a little doll. His blue eyes were open, and he sucked delicately on his dummy. Amparo noticed Angelo peering over at his grandson, and reclined back so that she blocked the view. Angelo was a bad father, anyway, so why should he get to see his grandson?

"Gabriel!" called a voice.

Amparo and Gabriel turned around. A man who looked a little like Angelo, but with shorter black hair and sharper facial features, was leaning over the pews and smiling at them.

"Uncle Iago!" cried Gabriel.

"I haven't seen you in years. What are you doing over there? Come and sit next to us"

"Come on, Amparo. I don't think I've introduced you to my uncle. Uncle Iago, this is my girlfriend, Amparo Duarte, and Amparo, this is my Uncle, Iago. He's Angelo's older brother"

"Oh! I didn't know he had a brother" remarked Amparo.

Iago smiled "Here I am. And if I'm right in thinking, I believe I have a great-nephew?"

"Here he is" said Gabriel proudly "Alexei"

Iago peered over "He looks just like you did. Why are we leaning over seats to talk to each other? Come. Come and sit by us"

Gabriel stood up, and sat down next to Iago. Amparo had no choice but to follow, mentally cursing. Now was not the time for Gabriel and Angelo to have one of their spats...

On the other hand, now was the chance to learn some more about Angelo. Amparo had to give it to him, he was very good at concealing his personal life. But, as she knew only too well, siblings knew each other's personal lives very well.

"It's been years since we've all been together" said a blonde lady, sitting beside Iago. Gabriel briefly interrupted, and introduced her as Emilia, Angelo's wife.

"I know, it's just travel is a pain between here and Venice" said Angelo.

"It's two hours" said Iago.

"Well, that's four hours in total spent travelling for one visit. You know how busy I am"

"Yes, I do know how busy you are, Angelo. Ready to win the next election?"

"Gabriel, if I'd known you were in Venice last summer, we'd have invited you to stay at once" said Emilia "You wouldn't have had to suffer all that drama"

"Oh, it's all right" said Gabriel "I hadn't even known I was going to be in Venice last summer until the day I left Milan. But I'd love to come again. Perhaps after season has finished, before we start rehearsals for _Giselle_, then Amparo and I could come and visit, and you could spend some time with Alexei?"

"He's so sweet, Gabriel, he looks just like you"

"Thank you" Gabriel smiled.

"Of course I am" lied Angelo.

"I don't think so" Amparo replied honestly.

"I'm sorry?" said Iago.

"I work in the same party as Angelo. In fact, I was temporarily in charged after Angelo...had to take some time off and Ralph fell down the stairs. I don't feel we're ready to win the election, I think we need to be doing more for our campaign"

"You know, I actually agree" said Iago. Angelo frowned "Angelo, as your older brother, I'm going to be honest. But I haven't heard anything on the news about what your party have been up to, compared to what was going on five years ago"

"That's because you live in Venice" retorted Angelo, trying to keep the contempt out of his voice.

"I lived in Venice five years ago" said Iago.

"I thought you were posted somewhere else"

"No, I've been in Venice for five years" said Iago "I think I'd know where my own house was"

Gabriel giggled, and then turned to a blond man who looked to be five years older than him.

"What about you, Roderigo? How have you been? Have I introduced you to Amparo?"

"I don't think so"

"Roderigo, this is Amparo, my girlfriend, and Amparo, this is my cousin, Roderigo. He's older than me by five years"

"Nice to meet you" said Amparo. After making some small talk, she turned back around to witness the church filling up even more. The Lancasters were finally entering, and settling down in their seats. Amparo noticed Richard stare after Anne longingly. She did look lovely. The deep red of her dress complimented her brown hair and complexion. Edouard and his mother looked haughtier than ever, glancing around disdainfully. Twelve year old Henry Tudor sat down, only to have Edouard snap at him. Henry looked upset, and moved away. Anne looked on at him sympathetically. Amparo sighed, feeling sorry for the girl. Some people were just not made to play the game of politics.

_'But you are'_ she thought.

The church was finally full as the royal family arrived. They all wore their regal robes, but for Paris' mother, who wore a long tight black dress. Adelaide, Mercutio and Valentine's mother, looked a little more colourful, wearing a violet dress suit with a silver brooch in the shape of a seahorse, pinning a sprig of lavender in place. Escalus arrived last, wearing his crown and his regal robes. The crowd cheered him. But, someone was missing...

It was Mercutio of course.

A loud cheer was heard outside. In strolled Mercutio, with Allegra on his arm, and Micro in her arms, as if nothing were wrong.

Something was very wrong, of course.

He was wearing a rainbow striped suit.

The whole church gaped. Mercutio waved and laughed. Allegra smiled too. She seemed somewhat...proud, of Mercutio. Micro giggled and laughed. Paris' parents looked furious. Adelaide and Escalus looked like they were despairing. Valentine shook his head and sank backwards onto the pews. Grinning, Mercutio ignored his family and sat down next to the Montagues. That way, he got to sit with his friends, and avoid a lecture.

"Mercutio! You look super sexy today!" giggled Hermia.

"I know! I'm hot stuff!"

"Mercutio just looks so dull when he wears normal clothes" explained Allegra, as she readjusted her own lilac dress, decorated with golden butterflies "It's better when he's true to himself. Right Wooshy-wo?"

"Right, Wally-wegra!"

Paris arrived with his best man. He took one look at Mercutio, and looked like he was about to cry.

"Someone get a picture of his face!" snorted Gabriel.

"Ssh" said Amparo. With the church full, the only thing they had to wait for now was the bride herself. Helena's mother and uncles and aunts and cousins were sitting in places of honour across from the royal family. They wore the sky blue, cream, and gold of their family colours.

The church fell silent, and stood up as a mark of respect. Amparo strained her eyes, and saw the girl entering the church. Unlike most of the offspring of the royal family, and the Capulets and the Montagues, Helena was quiet and well-behaved, which meant that Amparo did not know her very well. She had definitely seen her, of course. She was very tall, but had a face like a Greek goddess. Her hair was light golden blonde and curled and her eyes were like little bluebells. If she had the confidence and bravery, she could have easily stood up to Rosaline as a rival beauty queen. Amparo glanced over, and saw how Gabriel's sister had clammed up at the so-called threat. She snorted. Other women were so silly.

The dress itself, which had been a topic of debate for the past several weeks, was loose, but clung to Helena's tall frame in the right places, before reaching out in a long train. It was white, of course, and made of frothy light silk. It seemed to Amparo that it was floating, by the way Helena walked and it billowed around her. Several of the boys had done a double-take, shocked at the sudden transformation of Hermia's usually gawky sidekick.

Princess Sofia scampered along behind her, dropping little petals from her basket. She wore a similar floaty dress, but of pale gold, to conform to both Helena and Paris' family colours. Escalus smiled proudly at his little princess, and when her role was done, she rushed to the pew where he sat, and climbed up on his lap.

Everything was perfect. Everything was calm. Amparo decided to let her guard down. Angelo and Gabriel were behaving themselves. The Capulets and Montagues were abiding to their truce. The Yorkist and the Lancasters were too busy watching the proceedings to start rowing over who had the right to wear the crown, as it perched proudly on Edward's head. Henry gazed upon the altar, looking peaceful in the home of God.

Mercutio had other ideas.

He pulled out a deflated pool toy, and began to blow into it. Before long, an inflatable shark sat on the pew next to him. He stood up.

"Who shall I throw it at?" he whispered to Benvolio.

"No one! Put it down!" hissed Benvolio.

"The Capulets! The Capulets!" giggled Romeo "Chuck it at your dear old father-in-law!"

"Do it! Do it!" urged Allegra eagerly "Drive him mad!"

"He's not my father-in-law yet" replied Mercutio. But none the less, he picked up the shark and aimed it at Tancredo Capulet. It missed, in fact, it missed the Capulets entirely, and landed in the middle of the group of seats where Amparo sat. The Fulgencios all gasped, and ducked. Alexei was startled, and began to cry. Gabriel rocked him, but the whole church turned around to glare at them.

"Stop giving me evils, it was Mercutio who set him off by throwing a goddamn inflatable shark" snapped Gabriel, when the stares began too much.

"Gabriel, stop blaspheming in a church!" Angelo instructed.

The bride and groom looked horrified. Escalus was slowly turning red with anger. Mercutio got up, fetched the shark, and went to sit back down. Helena looked somewhat upset. Hermia sensed this, and scolded Mercutio. Amparo heard her furious whisper.

"...she's been through enough, let her have this one happy day...even if it is Paris she's getting hitched too..."

Alexei quietened down too, and snuggled against Gabriel. Gabriel ran his hand through his son's platinum blond hair, gently feeling how soft it was. Alexei's hair was a little darker than Gabriel's. It had more of a golden tint to it, so that he looked like his aunt, Rosaline.

Calm resonated over the church again. Friar Lawrence droned on, and on. It was very hot that day. Amparo's skin prickled uncomfortably. A warm lull fell upon the church. Finally, Friar Lawrence turned to the audience.

"If any person can show just cause why they should not be joined together, speak now or forever hold your peace"

There was a pause, as always, whilst he waited for someone to speak up.

And silence, as expected. No one was going to speak up. Who would? Friar Lawrence opened his mouth to begin the rest of the ceremony, when...

It broke.

"I object!" cackled a voice.

The congregation turned around. Standing in the doorway of the church, was none other than the man who had forced Hermia Capulet to the ground and taken her like the animal he was, had tried to steal away little Eliseo Montage and claim him for his own before the child was even born, who had broken Helena Lancely's heart, who had brutally attacked Gabriel Fulgencio's dance partner, Lavinia Andronicus, killed Bassianus in a street fight, and committed many, many more crimes that he had gone unpunished for.

It was Demetrius Menelaus.


	15. One Disaster After Another

RichardIII1955 - He's back indeed! And anyway, what the hell did you expect Mercutio to wear anyway? Yucky boring black?

Oh no! Evil Demetrius is back! Will he try and get revenge? And will anyone stand up to him? Meanwhile, Gabriel gives some words of advice to Henry Tudor, and inexplicitly gives him the idea for a smear campaign against Richard. Then, follows an event that RichardIII1955 and I have christened...Monach Food Fight!

* * *

Benvolio's first instinct was to reach out and grab Hermia's wrist, to make sure she was by his side. He leant forwards, trying to shield her from Demetrius' point of view. Eliseo squirmed, and Benvolio turned around, noticing Hermia had instinctively squeezed their son tight, as if to keep him safe. All the colour had drained from her face. Benvolio peered around frantically, to see the reactions of everyone else. Demetrius should be in prison. Shouldn't he?

Gabriel had turned an angry red, and there was a wild, fierce look in his dark blue eyes. Angelo's mouth was hanging open. Around them, Romeo, Mercutio, Allegra and Juliet looked disgusted and surprised. And if Gabriel was turning red, then Lord Capulet and Tybalt were turning purple. Lord Capulet clenched the pew so tightly, his knuckles became white. The other guests seemed baffled. Other than Hamlet, who was close friends with Romeo, they didn't know who Demetrius was, or what his nature was like.

Helena was the first to speak "Why are you here?" her soft, timid voice echoing around the hall.

Demetrius grinned "I bet I'm the last guest you expected to turn up here"

"She meant," snarled Gabriel, standing upright and passing Alexei to Amparo. Amparo looked horrified "Why the fuck aren't you in prison, you evil fucking fucktard?"

"Oh, why aren't I prison?" snorted Demetrius "I'll tell you why. Because I've got one thing you haven't got, brat"

"And what's that?" asked Gabriel, storming into the middle of the aisle, his nostrils flaring.

Demetrius stepped up closer to him. Benvolio grabbed Hermia more tightly, until he heard her squeak with pain. He let go, feeling guilty. He'd promised not to hurt her. He settled for holding her hand instead.

Demetrius leant right into Gabriel's face, exhaling his putrid breath on him "A mother and father who love me"

"Shut your mouth!" shouted Angelo, rising to his feet "Go on, leave! You weren't invited, and you have no right to be here!"

"What the hell have your parents got to do with anything?" demanded Gabriel. He glanced back at the Capulets and Montagues and the bride's family, expecting some support as he challenged the evil man.

"They paid for an appeal against my sentence, which was a hoax, by the way. You set me up. They paid the appeal, and the investigators found a lack of evidence. I wasn't guilty. I didn't shoot that ginger Capulet prick"

"I'm not ginger!" roared Tybalt, throwing a heavy bible at Demetrius' head. Demetrius ducked, and grinned again.

"I wasn't guilty, so here I am" Demetrius outstretched his arms, and walked in a circle.

"So why come here?" Paris demanded "What have we got that you could possibly want?"

"My bride"

"I'm not your bride!" screamed Helena.

"Your bride? _Your _bride? She chose me! You lost your chance, asshole. She deserves much better!"

"What, like you? What the hell are you, anyway?"

Paris puffed his chest out "I'm a count"

"In name, yeah, I'll give you that. Come on, what else?"

Friar Lawrence stepped forwards, and nervously tapped Paris on the shoulder "Shall I go on with the ceremony, Paris? Or shall we stop here?"

"Get him out" commanded Paris, pointing at Demetrius.

"For what? For coming to see the wedding? Nah, if I can't have her myself, I'll watch. I'm going to sit" said Demetrius, plonking himself down next to Edouard "right here"

"Leave!" Helena commanded as well, tears shining in her eyes. She blinked furiously, trying not to show them.

_'She has grown bolder'_ thought Gabriel. He turned around, and faced Demetrius again, and snapped "If you don't leave, I'll make you leave"

"I'd watch your tongue around me, if I were you. I can still drop you in jail. I bet the older guys would love a little pretty ballerina thing like you to mess around with"

Gabriel took a step back, and felt Angelo's hand on his arm.

"Don't get involved any further now. Step back" Angelo said into his ear lowly.

"No!" hissed Gabriel "I'm not you! I'm not a coward!" he turned back to Demetrius "Well, where the fuck are the guards? GET HIM OUT OF HERE!"

Finally, some guards stepped forwards, and took Demetrius by the arms. They escorted him to the door, and he went with little resistance, only to turn around and grin at Benvolio "I'll be back for your slut...and the baby"

The door slammed behind him.

"Who was that?" asked Queen Elizabeth, glancing around.

"Gabriel, address the guests in each of their languages that you know. Tell them that was a former boyfriend of the bride who committed a serious crime, and he is not welcome here. Tell them the wedding will proceed as normal, if" Amparo turned to Paris and Helena. Helena looked like she was about to cry even more "that is what you want"

"I want to" said Paris "I...I've never met a girl who's found something...something so loveable about me"

Helena nodded "And me. I won't have that pig steal from me this special day"

Paris took Helena's hand, and led her back to the altar. Gabriel briefly addressed each set of guests in their native languages, before resuming his seat next to Amparo. He turned to accept Alexei from her, only to find Angelo was cradling him, murmuring at him to shush, and readjusting his suit.

"You gave my angelcakes to Angelo?" hissed Gabriel.

"There was no one else to pass him too" Amparo replied calmly. She laid her hand on his thigh "Sit still now"

Gabriel was silenced, and gazed back towards the altar. Of course, it had been too good to hope that the wedding would have proceeded as normal. Weddings weren't weddings without a bit of a bust-up, and Verona wasn't Verona without a bit of drama.

* * *

Half an hour later, Helena emerged from the church as Countess Helena. Juliet had dabbed away the uncried tears around the corners of her eyes, and touched up the make-up that had threatened to dribble. She posed for photographs, smiling bravely. Though she'd never emulate Hermia's fiery demeanour, she was definitely stronger than the timid girl next door that Gabriel had known her as.

As for Hermia herself, Mercutio now carried Eliseo, whilst Lord Capulet and Benvolio supported her out of the church to the courtyard. They held back from the crowd and the photographs. It was as though all the life had drained from Hermia. Eliseo cried, reaching for her, sensing the upset within his mother.

Amparo watched the scenery with beady eyes. Her plan to humiliate Angelo was now off hold. There was far too much attention on Demetrius now. The guests were all muttering among themselves about him.

_'It couldn't be helped,'_ Amparo told herself _'Demetrius was out of your reign of control, there was nothing to be done. You must be prepared for set-backs like these. Now, calm Gabriel down, and make him biddable again. Keep Angelo in your sights. You never know, you might catch him unawares...'_

They were escorted back to the palace for the wedding breakfast. The crowds cheered and waved some more as they left on their way, as if nothing had happened. They left in stages, with the bride and groom leaving first, then the wedding party that consisted of the royal family and the Lancely family. Helena smiled as though nothing were wrong. Next came the honoured guests. King Edward, his queen, his daughters, his brothers and the rest of his party shared a limousine together. King Duncan, his sons Prince Malcolm and Prince Donalbain left afterwards, with Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Banquo and Fleance joining them in their limousine. Hamlet, his mother and uncle, Ophelia, Polonius, Laertes, Horatio and the rest of their court left together. The Capulets left, followed by the Montagues, and then the Lancasters left, conveniently several groups of guests after the Yorkists to keep it separate. Finally, Gabriel, Amparo, Alexei and the rest of the Fulgencios were allowed to leave. They did not see anymore of Demetrius on their way.

Upon arriving at the palace, they found the banquet room lavishly decorated in the banners and sigils of the Vincentinos and Lancely. Everywhere Amparo turned, she could see either black, gold and purple, or blue, cream and gold. They were greeted at the door by the wedding party.

"Hello, Amparo! Hello, Gabriel" greeted Escalus "I'm so pleased you could both make it. Amparo, you look lovely, and, Gabriel, I have never seen you look so...so..."

"Normal?" asked Gabriel, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes. That" mumbled Escalus. He turned to face Mercutio "As for you, go to your room, and take that suit off!"

"No! I have a right to express my personality!"

"Take it off!"

"No! I'm showing support for equal marriage! See the rainbow colours? Gay rights! Gay rights!"

Escalus looked like he was about to die. Angelo blushed. Amparo beckoned for Gabriel to follow, and he did. Alexei was sleeping, his head lolling against Gabriel's chest. They went to find their seats. They were given seats of respect near the Capulets and Montagues, but not honour, as they were not royal or from nobility, and perched down.

"Ah. We're all together again, I see" said Angelo. Iago, Emilia and Roderigo were sitting down next to him as well.

"What a coincidence" said Amparo.

"Well, no, because we're all one family" said Iago. He raised his eyebrow "In name. Where's my niece?"

"Over there, with the Capulets. The one in the blue" pointed Amparo. Gabriel sat beside her, and then lay Alexei in his car seat, which he perched carefully on a spare chair.

"You're doing well with him" said Angelo. Gabriel glanced up. Amparo looked over at them.

"Sorry, did I just hear you say something nice to me? Was that approval I heard in your tone of voice?" retorted Gabriel.

Iago snorted with laughter.

"Never mind" sighed Angelo. The meal was served. Amparo noticed that neither Hermia nor Angelo ate one bite. Maybe that was why Angelo looked so slim. Gabriel played with his food, as usual, eating only the vegetables, and pushing the potatoes and other carbohydrate rich foods aside. As usual, he skipped dessert.

The rest of the meal was passed in silence. Amparo ensured that her body language made any kind of small talk between the father and son as awkward and dry as could be. Outwardly, to anyone else, she was as charming as could be. Let them think that the problem lay with Angelo. Let him lose his friends.

Come evening, and the guests departed to their rooms to prepare for the party. This was where the real fashion show began. Queen Elizabeth led the evening, by appearing in a watery blue dress with ruffles, like the waves of the sea, her long silver-blonde hair swept up under her tiara. Lady Macbeth wore a long, sleeveless glittering black dress, with onyxes dangling from her ears and around her neck. Joining them was Rosaline, once again wearing the red of the Capulet family. Her cleavage burst against the v-neck impressively, and her lips were painted red to match. Many of the men did a double take. Rosaline revelled in their gazes, but her eyes were only for Tybalt. Tybalt glared at everyone possessively, and clasped his arms around her waist. What was he like?

Mercutio, however, was another story. As per Escalus' command, he had changed out of the rainbow striped suit, but he was now wearing a drag outfit. He wore pinks heels and fishnet tights, with a sparkly pink mini skirt and matching crop top. It was the sort of thing that Beatrix would have worn on a casual day, and it looked ridiculous, but at the same time, Mercutio looked great, in his weird Mercutio way. Escalus took one look at him and shook his head. Hamlet goggled. Portia, Nerissa and Desdemona giggled. Edward and his court burst out laughing. Even Richard sniggered!

Meanwhile, Juliet and Hermia had both changed into floaty chiffon silk dresses. Juliet wore deep royal blue, of the Montague colours. It matched her sapphire ring that Romeo had given her, and reminded Amparo of twilight, in the moment before blackness enveloped the world and all that could be seen was blue. She wore diamond and pearl jewellery, with her long red hair loose, cascading behind her like fire. She attracted just as many stares as Rosaline, but like Rosaline, her eyes were for one man, and one man only.

As for Hermia, tonight she looked pale, and frail. Amparo had never seen the feisty girl look vulnerable before, but now she did. She wore a dusky pale lilac dress, with a halter neck. Around her neck was a dragon necklace, but other than that, not much else jewellery. Although she was known to dislike make-up, at parties she always let her eyeliner pen run away with her, but tonight she had not.

"The poor girl" stated Gabriel, as he twirled her around the dance floor. Amparo herself wore a grey nineteen twenties style dress, decorated with black lace, which hugged her slim figure. She was well aware that she was not a beautiful woman, nor was she remarkably pretty, but she knew how to make herself look handsome.

"I don't think I've ever seen her so subdued before"

"It's a pity. She's the life and soul of any party. Tonight will be ridiculously dull!"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!" screamed Edouard at a giggling Mercutio.

"Or maybe not" said Amparo.

* * *

"Oh, just look at Rosaline" seethed Juliet "Swanning around, sucking up to Queen Elizabeth and Lady Macbeth, dragging out the old Oftmoro jewels...who the hell does she think she is? She makes me want to puke. Literally. I'm going to go right up to her, in front of everyone, and hurl on her. Then we'll see how Queen Elizabeth and Lady Macbeth like her then"

"Don't you think Queen Elizabeth and Lady Macbeth wouldn't be impressed with you for doing the puking?" asked Hermia.

"Don't tell me you don't want to puke on her too! You hate her more than me!"

"Yes, but I don't care about what people think of me" replied Hermia "And anyway, I'm bored of listening to you bitch about her"

"But you _love_ bitching about Rosaline!"

"Not tonight" snapped Hermia "And anyway, if you had a pair of eyes, you would notice that everyone's eyes tonight are not her, but you"

"Me?"

"Look" Hermia pointed. The Scottish princes were staring their way admiringly. Even Hamlet had stopped glaring at the floor to glance at them.

"But why me?"

"Because this is your moment now. You're a woman now, and you are the heir to the Capulets. You're engaged to Woo woo, which makes you co-heir of the Montagues. When dad and Lord M kick the bucket, you'll rule half Verona. Tonight, the people look to you as the next generation of power in Verona. They all want to know who you are, and you look amazing. So go out there, and make Rosaline look like the wannabe we know she is"

Hermia stood up, not in the mood to listen to Juliet's complaints about Rosaline's showing off, and made her way outside. The party was too hot, and she was not up to it. If she stayed in there a moment longer, she knew she would have cried. And she would not cry in front of everyone. She would not.

She leant on the low wall of the balcony, closing her eyes. The wind ruffled the dusky lilac chiffon dress. Earlier on, when she had changed out of the nude pink one, Benvolio had called her beautiful. He was lying. Her lips were chewed, her face white, and any make-up smudged.

Behind her, she thought she heard something. Her ears pricked up. The whole of the day, she had been jumpy like this. She had been reluctant to leave Eliseo with anyone, and so he perched on Benvolio's knee back in the party room. He would probably fall asleep, and then they'd tuck him up with Micro in Mercutio's room. She loved to have close friends like him. They were always there for each other, and they never judged each other, no matter what they did.

What good would it do to stand out here? She needed to be with them. They all needed to be together and stand together, especially in times like these. There were ties between them. Family ties. They weren't strictly family, but they felt like one. Hermia turned, her skirts lifting up in the breeze, so that the slashes of silver on her sandals could be seen. She walked along the terrace, the sounds of the party growing louder as she came closer to rejoining them.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and seized her around the mouth. Her green eyes widened in alarm, and her scream caught in her throat. The person whirled her around and slammed her against the wall.

"Hello, slut"

Hermia gazed up at Demetrius as he towered over here.

"What do you want?" she whimpered.

* * *

"You haven't changed a bit, Angelo"

"Neither have you, Iago"

"Gabriel's very grown up now. You should be proud of him"

"For what?"

Iago glared at him "For being Gabriel. For making something of himself. For being a survivor"

"Survivor of what? He's socially retarded"

"You once said the same about me" Iago shook his head.

"I stand by it, you know. He's exactly like you. I'd swear he was your son if the DNA test hadn't proved he was mine"

"DNA test?"

Angelo inwardly groaned "A few years ago, I decided to find out if he was really my kid. So while he was asleep, I took a swap of his cheek, and then sent it off. He's mine"

"Haven't you done the same with the girls?" asked Iago, perplexed and surprised.

"No. I know they're mine"

"How?"

"I know. Rosaline's very much my daughter"

Iago snorted "It's funny"

"What's funny?"

"That you raised Gabe, and you didn't see Rosaline and Livia for years, and yet you hate Gabe, and it's Rosaline you're closest with. But, Angelo, I couldn't help but notice there was coldness between you two"

"We had a fallout, but we're getting on again. She initially believed Isabella Montague's accusation, but now she believes my side of the story"

"Isabella played you for a fool. And Amparo is playing you for one now"

"I know. I swear they're in league with each other. They're friends, and they've been spending more time with each other lately. But why would they be in league with one another? Amparo is in my party, and Isabella is a conservative. She does not support my party, so therefore she does not support Amparo. So why are they working together? What do they want? I just can't work it out"

Iago shook his head "Angelo, what has happened to you? You used to be just as sharp as any knife in politics, and now you're...slacking"

This was Angelo's chance. He could tell Iago all about what was happening. About the looming doctor's appointment with the dreaded diagnosis. He was his brother, he would understand.

No. No, he would not. Just because Iago was his brother, it didn't make him his friend. There were no family ties between them. They had been forced to share their childhood, and that was it. Angelo had no friends. And Iago had betrayed him once. He wouldn't hesitate to betray him again. Iago would sell him if it meant he could have promotions and riches beyond his wildest dreams.

"Well," said Iago "What's going on?"

He decided attack was his best form of defence "You'd think I'd tell you, after how you betrayed me over Michael?"

"It was for your own good" said Iago sharply "You could have caught something nasty. And anyway, you've as good as admitted it. Something is wrong. Tell me"

"No" snapped Angelo.

Iago raised his eyebrows again, and then stood up, leaving Angelo still leaning on the balcony.

"I'm going inside. It's getting cold. I'm going to go and spend some time with Gabe while I can. I don't plan to stay in Verona long. I have some plots of my own to conduct back in Venice"

"Like what?"

"Like teaching Othello a lesson he won't forget"

Iago walked away, and Angelo gazed back out over the gardens. With a sigh, he realised that he too, was cold. He stood up, and walked in the opposite direction of Iago, not wishing to catch up with his brother and be forced to speak to him further.

Angelo turned the corner, and then froze, before doubling back. Had he really just seen what he thought he had seen?

He peered again.

"You're a lying slut, a whore, and you deserve to spend two years in prison to compensate what I've gone through. Oh, and I'll have your kid, too, to pay for losing me Helena"

"You dumped her" wept Hermia "And I said no! I didn't lie! No one would ever lie about a thing like that! I said no and you didn't stop, and that's-"

Demetrius slapped her. Hermia cried with pain, and tried to hit him back, but Demetrius grabbed her wrist and twisted it. Hermia yelped, unable to shake free. She was much smaller than him, her arms were like matchsticks, and didn't stand a chance.

_'I'm not like you, I'm not a coward!'_

Gabriel's words rang in his ears. Gabriel was not much bigger than Hermia. He would easily be defeated in a fight, and yet without a moment's hesitation, he would have punched the hell out of Demetrius for hurting someone who he didn't even like. His son was not a nice boy, but at least he had some shreds of morals.

If Gabriel was prepared to risk his personal safety, then so could Angelo. Angelo might be ill, but he was still tall and strong.

"That's enough" thundered Angelo, storming into the middle of the tussle. He grabbed Hermia, and wrenched her from Demetrius' grasp. He shoved Demetrius across the balcony, so the man tottered. He turned, scowled, and addressed him "We told you to leave earlier. Now, I think you ought to do as instructed. Leave. Before I go to Escalus and put you in further trouble"

Demetrius seethed, and then left without another word. Angelo turned, and glanced Hermia over.

"Are you all right?"

"I've been better"

He didn't know Hermia very well. He wasn't sure if he should like her or not. Each time he encountered her, she was usually with her friends, who all tended to be doing something silly. All he'd ever heard about her was second hand knowledge from Rosaline and Gabriel, who both shared low opinions of the girl. But she was Lord Capulet's daughter, and Egues had been there for Angelo's daughter when Camilla exiled him from his daughters' lives, so Angelo guided Hermia to a bench and sat her down.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No" Hermia shook her red head. Angelo passed her a tissue, and she took it gratefully. She wiped her eyes and dabbed at her split lip. Eventually, she calmed down "Thanks for getting rid of him"

"It was all right" Angelo gently patted her shoulder, but keeping a respectful distance between them "I'm as glad to see the back of him as you are. He's a disgusting psychotic pervert. They should never have let him out"

"You're a nice man, Angelo. I didn't think I'd say that. Benny told me about what Isabella said. I didn't know whether to believe it or not. Why would Isabella lie about being sexually harassed? But now...I don't think you'd sexually harass someone. Why would you have helped me just now? And why would anyone ever lie about being sexually harassed when millions of men like him walk free?"

* * *

"Hello, Puck. Long time, no see"

Gabriel turned around. No one had called him that name in a long time "Oh, hello, there, Oberon, Titania. How are you?"

"Very well, thanks. What about you? Ballet star...just what you wanted, right?"

"Exactly" purred Gabriel "So, what did you think of the wedding?"

"Lovely" nodded Titania "Besides the appearance of Demetrius, it was just as we had planned"

"You had planned?" Gabriel raised a thin blond eyebrow.

"It was our doing" nodded Oberon "You see, we thought it was unfair that Hermia and Juliet got their guys, leaving Paris and Helena painfully single. And, to be honest, I don't think Demetrius deserves a girlfriend"

"And they were so right for each other, even down to their names" agreed Titania.

"Paris and Helena. The face that launched a thousand ships. Or pervs, if you take Demetrius Menelaus into the question" Oberon shook his head "But never mind. His comeuppance will come, with or without our assistance"

"But anyway, with a little magic and a few accidental meetings" said Titania.

"Or were they accidental?" Oberon playfully added.

"They soon hooked up"

"Well, I think you've both done a good job. They seem happy together. It's seems there is something loveable about Paris' boringness and Helena's neediness after all" nodded Gabriel.

"There's somebody for everybody" agreed Titania.

"Well, it was nice seeing you" said Gabriel "Enjoy the evening"

He wandered through the hall, greeting acquaintances as he did so. Through Portia, he was able to obtain an update on the state of Alexei's mother. Rose was keeping to herself, staying at home, reading, and quietly recuperating. She hadn't mentioned the baby she abandoned to any of her friends.

"Have you seen my Juliet tonight?" swooned Romeo, as Gabriel walked past "She's beautiful. She looks like an evening star, walking on the rim of night. Like that Lord Byron poem, _she walks in beauty, like the night..._"

Eventually, Gabriel found himself sitting at the Lancaster table, consoling a sobbing Henry Tudor.

"He always bullies me" the child snivelled. Gabriel nodded sympathetically "He says I'm nothing, and useless, and that he's going to be king, and all I'm ever going to be nothing!"

"There, there" Gabriel dabbed at the twelve year old's tears "Don't listen to him. Don't listen to a word he says, because he's a liar. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Gabriel"

"You are whatever you want to be. And that doesn't always mean becoming king. Edouard is jealous of you"

"Me? Edouard is jealous of me? How?"

"Lots of reasons" said Gabriel "He sees you as a threat. And you have what he doesn't. You have a choice"

"A choice?"

"To be whatever you want to be"

"What do you mean?"

"You can play the game of politics and make yourself a king, or, you can aid him and become his advisor, with your power coming from behind his throne, or you can stay out of it, and do something completely different. He doesn't have that choice"

"But he wants to be king! He's first in line, and I'm last in line! My own mother has a better claim to the throne than me!"

"Then bide your time" replied Gabriel "Do you support the Yorkists, or the Lancasters?"

"I'm related to the Lancasters by marriage. But...I don't like Edouard. I want to support my family, but I don't want him to be the king. He killed Anne's kitten!"

Gabriel frowned "I know. He's an ass. Well, Henry, my advice to you is this. Take what you want from the Yorkists and Lancasters. Let them kill each other off, and then, when the stage is empty, make your move. Your moment will come"

"What do you mean, take from them?"

"I am loosely related to the Capulets through my sister's marriage. I don't particularly like them or the Montagues. Before the truce, it was fun watching them beat each other up. Sometimes, however, in exchange for a favour against the other family, I would support them. Or, if a member of one certain family displeased me, I could play the other family off against them to get my revenge. Love only yourself, Henry, because at the end of the day, the only person who will love you is you. And your children. You cannot help but love your children. Remember, the Wars of the Roses cannot go on forever. One day, they'll all be dead. Then, the time to make your move is right"

"My mother says I'd be a good king"

"All mothers think their sons are kings" smiled Gabriel.

"You're a father...do you think your son will be a king?"

"I don't know" said Gabriel "But all I want, is for him to be happy. What you have to remember is, sons do not always follow in their fathers footsteps. Because one man can play the game of politics, it doesn't mean his son can. Perhaps his son has his own way to dance. Or perhaps a man who can play the game of politics has a daughter, who might surprise everyone by playing it even better than any man has before. Perhaps the son might meet a woman who plays the game of politics better than anyone he's ever met. Perhaps they'll fall in love and strike an alliance, however unusual and unconventional it appears to everyone else. Perhaps, Henry, you could be in for a surprise"

"But I'm only twelve. How can I do anything now?"

"You don't have to kill people to get them out the way. You just have to ruin them" replied Gabriel.

"Ruin them?"

"Yes, you know. Spread nasty rumours, call them names...you know, sometimes it's more effective than if you kill them, because then they have to live with the nasty names and nasty rumours and everyone hating them for it! Hahaha!"

"One day, I will show them" vowed Henry "One day, they'll bow to me. No one will ever call me names, because I'll have called them names first"

"There" said Gabriel "That's the spirit. Oh, look. I believe Mercutio is going to dance"

Henry and Gabriel glanced at the stage, where Mercutio was strutting up the stage in his drag outfit. The music changed, and Mercutio grinned, before launching into song.

"_What's the sense in sharing, this one and only life, ending up, just another lost and lonely wife..._"

"Oh, I know this song. He sung it at the Capulet party once. He came dressed as Scary Spice then"

Mercutio's friends had all began to dance. Romeo was waving the inflatable shark in the air. Most of the other guests left the dance floor, irritated.

"What a freak" spat Edouard, sitting back down at their table, dragging Anne with him "Why is Verona so full of freaks?"

"Probably because you're in it" retorted Gabriel. Henry giggled.

"What did you just say?" Edouard scowled.

"I said, Verona is full of freaks, because you are inside of it" Gabriel leant forwards and narrowed his eyes.

"I'm a prince!"

"King or no king, prince or no prince, a twat is a twat, and a twat deserves a slap"

Edouard gaped "Did you just threaten me?"

"Anne, the next time Edouard abuses you, punch him in the face" said Gabriel calmly. He turned and smiled at Edouard "That was a threat"

Edouard opened his mouth, but Mercutio's song came to end.

"I hope you all liked my sexy dance everyone!" he cooed into the microphone "Now, as I'm sure you'll all remember, I was wearing a thoroughly attractive rainbow striped suit earlier on. Many of you have guessed correctly that I was wearing it in support of equal marriage and rights for same-sex couples, but especially equal marriage because, today, we have seen a wedding. I don't think it's fair that gay people can't get married in Verona, because most of the gay couples I know are more stable and love each other more than some of the straight couples. And I also don't think it's fair that Angelo Fulgencio, our very own Deputy, promised this in his party manifesto five years ago, and hasn't yet enacted on this promise, when he's been in power for five years. So, basically, what I want to say is, don't vote for Angelo, and support same-sex rights, and vote for the people who will give our brothers and sisters their rights!"

Gabriel whooped loudly. Edouard frowned at him. Allegra stood up on a chair and cheered, clapping as loudly as she could. Romeo followed suit, standing up and cheering, and then Benvolio joined in. Most of the room stood up then, and started to cheer. Mercutio handed the microphone to a dumbstruck Escalus and shimmied over towards his friends.

"That was brave of him" said Anne.

Edouard snorted "When I'm king, I'm going to outlaw that sort of...degrading"

Anne closed her eyes for a moment, and breathed deeply. She stood up, glaring down at Edouard. He stood up too, towering over her. But once he had stood up, she turned away, and began to walk away, and Edouard relaxed. But then, she doubled back, and punched him in the face, straight on the nose, as Gabriel had suggested. Edouard toppled backwards with a scream, falling into the nine tier wedding cake. It collapsed on him, and his weight took the table with him.

"That felt good" said Anne, rubbing her knuckles.

"Great idea, Anne!" exclaimed Mercutio "Let's start a food fight!"

Mercutio reached over, and flung a trifle at Edouard as he tried to get up. Edouard screamed with anger, and stood up. He grabbed a bottle of wine, and chucked it back, so that it smashed above Mercutio's head and doused him in wine.

"EVACUATE!" bellowed Rosaline, gathering up her skirts and running out the room. Queen Elizabeth and Lady Macbeth followed after, with Elizabeth only stopping to pick up her three daughters. Then, chaos descended. Edouard flung jam tarts at Mercutio, and Mercutio squirted him with cream. Edouard roared with rage, and hurled some cutlery at Benvolio, but then Romeo climbed on the table and tipped a baked Alaska on his head, so he couldn't see where he was going. King Edward soon joined in himself, tossing a soufflé at Edouard, as he ran around screeching. Benvolio ran for the door, limping from where he had been hit by the cutlery. Henry Tudor joined in, throwing pieces of chocolate cake at King Edward, and his brothers, George and Richard. Richard yelped in surprise, only to have Anne pulled him out the way and behind a table for cover. Impulsively, she kissed him full on the lips, before throwing a pot of clotted cream back at Henry.

Then, the Danes joined in! King Claudius tried to run, but he slipped up on the baked Alaska that had dripped off of Edouard. Hamlet loomed over, and dropped an apple pie on his head.

"That was for my father – I know you killed him!"

Portia, Nerissa, Desdemona and Juliet ducked under a table for cover, only to find poor King Harry huddled up, holding a rosary, praying.

"Excuse me" beamed Juliet, before crawling out and under the next table, where Amparo and Isabella were hiding.

Macbeth, Banquo and Fleance soon formed a team against the Thane of Cawdor. King Duncan hid behind a chair, throwing refreshment mints at anyone who came near. Malcolm and Donalbain tipped coffee around areas where suspects could slip, and the Thane of Cawdor soon fell on his bottom with a yell.

"This is appalling" gasped Isabella.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we can pin the blame Angelo somehow" muttered Amparo "Where he is, anyway? And where's Gabriel?"

"Where's Hermia?" asked Juliet.

King Edward leapt onto a table, throwing scones like an Olympian throwing shot putts at each and every Lancaster he could see. Margaret of Anjou was hit in the face. Anne and Richard roared with laughter. Henry skidded under a table. Edouard rushed to the door, covered in cake, cream, chocolate sauce, and anything else sugary. King Edward launched more scones, so that one hit him on his buttocks. One of the scones hit the table cloth where King Harry was sheltering. He screamed, and fell silent.

In the midst of all this madness, Mercutio roared with laughter. It was just as he had planned! Paris' wedding had been truly and utterly wrecked! Food was being thrown across all areas of the room, and not one of the guests had gotten away without being hit. Marvellous!

* * *

Edouard met Demetrius outside the palace.

"About that alliance..."


	16. Eliseo Goes Missing

RichardIII1955 - Thanks for the idea!

What a chaotic wedding! But will Mercutio and his friend's silly antics have any repercussions? And what about the return of evil Demetrius?

* * *

"Play!" insisted Eliseo, jabbing Benvolio with a rattle "Play!"

Both parents raised their heads groggily. Their one year old son was standing, staring over at them as they slept with wide green eyes. He grinned when he realised that his mum and dad was awake.

"Play" he beamed.

Hermia rubbed her eyes. They felt crusty with tears. She yawned, and licked her lips, which stung when her tongue brushed against a split. She glanced over at Benvolio. He was leaning up to attend to Eliseo, presumably so she could lie in.

"How did you get out of your cot?" she heard him groan.

"Climb! I climb!" Eliseo clapped his hands "Play daddy! Play!"

Benvolio sat up and pulled off the blankets. It had been a hot night, and they were both coated in a thin layer of sweat. Hermia gazed up at the glow in the dark stars on her ceiling, her vest top and shorts sticking to her.

"Come on then, you little monster" Benvolio sighed, reaching over for his glasses. He scooped up Eliseo and plonked him beside him "Hungry?"

"No. Want play" Eliseo crawled over and wrapped his arms around Hermia's neck lovingly "Mummy" he beamed.

"Monster" replied Hermia, cuddling him back. Eliseo giggled at his nickname. He leant over and gave her a sloppy kiss on her cheek. Hermia laughed delightedly, and Benvolio smiled. He loved to hear her laugh, and to see her happy. She struggled upright, and yawned and rubbed her eyes open.

"Anything you want this morning?" asked Benvolio.

"A bath, Benny, please"

"I'll run one for you now"

"Will you come in with me?"

"Who'll watch Eliseo?"

Hermia rolled her eyes "Make Tybalt"

Benvolio's lower lip wobbled. Tybalt was moody at best to him during the day, and he was known for being incredibly grouchy during the morning. Benvolio made his way downstairs, and found Tybalt sitting on the sofa, chuckling at the Jeremy Kyle Show.

"Good morning, Tybalt"

"What do you want, Montague?" grunted Tybalt.

"Uh...well...Hermia and I are going in the bath, and I was...I mean, she was wondering if you'd watch Eliseo for us? It'll only be for an hour!" Benvolio gabbled nervously.

Tybalt turned around and raised an eyebrow, whilst narrowing his eyes.

"You're both going in the bath?"

"Erm...no! I mean...well, yes"

"You better make your mind up, Montague. I'm not babysitting your brat so you can have a blessed lie in. I've already been woken up by Rosaline clacking about in her godforsaken heels and marching out somewhere"

"Well, yes, we are going in the bath...together" said Benvolio, cringing.

"Put the kid on the mat. I'll watch him. But I can't guarantee he'll be well looked after"

"Thank you!" mumbled Benvolio. He placed Eliseo down on the mat.

"Tibby!" Eliseo shrieked, running over to him "Tibby, play!"

"It's Tybalt" snapped Tybalt.

Eliseo was not put off. He grinned, showing his new pearly white teeth "Tibby!"

Benvolio scuttled back upstairs. Hermia was making the bed, chucking tassled cushions in the right order and straightening the green and gold embroided bedspread Mercutio had bought them from India. He went into the bathroom, and started to run the water, making sure it was scalding hot, as Hermia liked it, rather than the mild warm he preferred. When they had first shared a bath, Hermia had ran it and climbed in first. Benvolio had dipped in one toe, yelped, and rushed to the other side of the bathroom shrieking and tripping over the bathmat. It had amused Hermia no end, and she still teased him about it. Benvolio smiled at the memory.

Hermia wandered in, stripping off her clothes, and sinking into the water gratefully. Benvolio followed, sucking in breath at the heat. Hermia just laughed.

"So, is Tibby watching our little monster?"

"Yes. He still scares me, you know"

"He's only _Tibby_!"

"Yes, but he's grumpy in the mornings!" insisted Benvolio "And he's grumpy all day if I might add"

"Just laugh at him" dismissed Hermia, rubbing water onto her face.

"It's not that easy..." Benvolio trailed off, reaching for the shampoo. He tipped a handful of water over his hair, making sure it was completely wet, before rubbing in shampoo. He did the same for Hermia, gently wrapping the silky red strains around his finger tips. It still marvelled him at how very red her hair truly was. She was like a fox, sleek and colourful against the night.

"Pretty crazy wedding, right?" said Hermia, finally broaching the topic that they knew they would eventually have to discuss.

"I'll say. I wonder if the guests have got all the cake and pudding out of their hair yet. How come you weren't at the food fight? I tried to escape but Edouard threw cutlery at my leg"

Hermia stiffened "I was...busy. I was outside. He threw cutlery at you? Show me your leg"

Benvolio lifted his thigh from the water. Hermia gasped at the constellation of cuts embedded in a purpling bruise.

"The bastard..."

"I know" Benvolio agreed "I can't wait until he goes home"

"Poor Anne, being married to him" Hermia grimaced "I just wish we could keep her here with us and look after her. I hope Juliet's plan works so she can stay"

"I'll say" agreed Benvolio "So where were you? I'd thought you would have been in the middle of it with Mercutio"

Hermia stiffened again. Benvolio felt her do so as he rinsed the shampoo from her hair.

"Outside" she replied calmly.

"Who were you with?"

"Angelo. Crazy old Gabe's dad"

"Did you see what the hell he was wearing in the evening?"

"Yes!" Hermia cackled "What was it? A bizarre body sized pair of tights?"

Benvolio sniggered as he rinsed the last of the shampoo from his hair "He's so socially retarded. I just feel sorry for him these days. I used to be terrified of him. Now I don't know whether I want to laugh at him, or give him a hug"

"Ah, poor Gabe" Hermia sighed, and Benvolio massaged in conditioner. She was quiet, enjoying the feel of Benvolio's finger tips on her scalp "I know what you mean. What he needs is a family who love him unconditionally. Or at least a group of friends like that"

"What do you mean?" asked Benvolio.

"Well, look at us lot. No one's family in our group could win Family of the Year. But we've always had each other. Even though Mercutio's mental and crazy and does bizarre things, we've always been there to love him. But Gabe doesn't have that. He's a weirdo like Merc, but...gone wrong. He's totally paranoid that everyone hates him and is going to bully him for it, so he does it first. I mean, if he'd had some friends, some people who'd loved him unconditionally, like a family is supposed to, then maybe he wouldn't be like that. What Gabriel needed was...what he needs...are family ties"

"Interesting theory" said Benvolio "What do you mean my family ties?"

"You know what I mean. Allies. Someone who would always take his corner, even when he was wrong. Love. I hope Alexei gets that"

"I can't believe Rose would do that" said Benvolio quietly.

"I can. She always was a weakling" Hermia hugged her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

"Let's not talk about her. Let's talk about something nice. When do you think we'll have another little monster to chase after?" asked Benvolio, reaching forwards and lightly tickling Hermia's belly.

"When you have finished at university, and I'm a trained mechanic"

There was a hint of pride in Hermia's voice. Benvolio smiled. He was proud of her too. All her life, there had never been anything she had been particularly good at, unless it involved being loud, or irritating Tybalt, until the day Tybalt snapped at her not to make stupid noises at him and to make herself useful and help him with his car. The car was fixed, and so was Hermia's decision about her future.

"I'm proud of you" said Benvolio, combing through the red silk.

"I know. I'm proud of you too. Here, switch places. I'll comb your hair, it's more tangly than mine" Hermia climbed onto his lap, and then behind him. She reached for the comb, and started to groom through Benvolio's scruffy curls "Your hair is getting long. All the curls are tumbling down around your ears like Eliseo's. You should keep it this sort of length, it's perfect for you"

"My dad said I ought to cut it"

"Don't listen to him. He doesn't know anything about looking adorkable. But, don't grow it too long, then it'll just look ridiculous. If you do, I'll dye it blond, straighten it, and call you Gabriel!"

Benvolio shuddered "Yuck! I'd make a horrible blond. My skin's too dark. And anyway, if you did, I'd dye yours blonde too, and then call you Rosaline!"

"Shut up!" Hermia playfully splashed him. Benvolio squealed. The bath water tipped voraciously over the side.

"There's so much water all over the floor" said Benvolio.

"Like we're back in Venice"

"Are you looking forward to going back to Venice?"

"Definitely" sighed Hermia.

"Why's that?"

"I feel safer. Away from...away from Demetrius"

It had been inevitable that they would have to talk about him sometime. Benvolio wished he was still facing her, so he could read her body language.

"What are we going to do?" he asked.

"I have no idea" Hermia closed her eyes for a moment.

"How are we going to keep Eli safe?"

"I don't know"

"At least he left afterwards" Benvolio said, trying to comfort himself, even if it was very weak comfort "Maybe he won't come back"

"He already did"

"He what?" Benvolio turned around to face her. Hermia had her face down, looking away from him. There was colour creeping across her cheeks.

"When I was outside"

Were those tears dripping down from her sparkly green eyes? Benvolio blinked, blinded without his glasses. He tried to reach out to pat her, and comfort her, but it was no use. He went back to staring at the tiles of the bathroom. He felt her start to scrub at his back with a loofah. Usually, he would have enjoyed the feel of her scrubbing away all the dead skin and dirt, but now he was too tense.

"What happened?" he asked.

"He threatened me"

"What did he threaten to do?"

"To get his revenge on me. He slapped me around the face twice and he said he would have Eliseo too"

"He'd have our baby?" gaped Benvolio, turning his head back to her "Our baby?"

Hermia nodded, and then pressed her forehead to his shoulder. Shudders wracked through her body, and Benvolio knew she was crying. He kissed her, and then slipped an arm back to hug her.

"What happened?" urged Benvolio "Tell me. You didn't tell me before, and I was powerless to do anything. Tell me now...and I'll cut his throat!"

"Cut his throat?" repeated Hermia, shocked at Benvolio's uncharacteristic violent threat.

"Yes" Benvolio let go and turned around completely. He held her by her shoulders, looking into her green eyes with his hazel ones "I swear to god, I will do it"

"Don't. I don't want you in trouble"

"What did he do?"

"I was outside on my own, walking..."

"What were you doing outside on your own when you knew he was about?"

"It's irrelevant what I was doing. It's what he did that's the problem. I was just heading back, when he grabbed me and covered my mouth so I couldn't scream. He started threatening to kidnap Eliseo. I tried to fight back. I told myself, this time, I'll give as good as I get. But I couldn't. I'm so stupid and skinny, my arms are like matchsticks. He slapped me around the face several times, that's how my lip split. But then funnily enough, Angelo showed up, got rid of Demetrius and gave me a tissue for my mouth"

"Angelo helped you?" Benvolio frowned "Angelo's a creep!"

"No he's not! He seemed sort of...sad. He looked much older. In fact, I think he looked ill"

"Then what happened?"

"We stayed out there until after the food fight. I was too upset to go inside, so Angelo stayed with me"

Benvolio sighed deeply. What were they going to do?

* * *

"Tibby wibby dibby gibby fibby!" sang Eliseo, clapping his hands.

"I'm watching the telly! Shut up!" snapped Tybalt.

Eliseo giggled and ran in front of it, waving his hands in the air "Play!"

"No" hissed Tybalt.

"Play out!" Eliseo pointed to the door.

"You want to play outside?" frowned Tybalt.

"Yes!" Eliseo nodded, curls bouncing "Play out!"

"Fine" Tybalt picked up the one year old, and dumped him outside "There you go. Play"

"You play!" insisted Eliseo.

"No" snapped Tybalt again, marching inside. The phone was ringing, and he could smell bacon. And boy, did Tybalt love bacon...

* * *

"Where's Eliseo?" asked Hermia, coming downstairs in her dressing gown. Tybalt sat on the sofa chomping on his third bacon sandwich.

"I don't know" shrugged Tybalt.

"You were watching him!"

"He wanted to play outside" Tybalt rolled his eyes "So I put him out"

"You put him outside on his own?" gaped Hermia. She ran outside, calling his name. Tybalt just rolled his eyes again and stuffed another mouthful in. He heard her continue to call, before she came running back in "He's not out there!"

"He's probably just crawled off somewhere. Maybe he's shut in the garden shed. You've done that a couple of times before, haven't you? Especially whilst in the company of the gardener who happened to be a pretty boy. Tut, tut, Hermia, what will Benny say? That his son is already shaping up to be just as slutty as his-"

"Shut up, Twatbalt!" snapped Hermia. Tears glistened in her green eyes, and Tybalt felt bad.

"Calm down, Hermia, he'll be fine. He's probably toddling around exploring, like we did when we were kids" Tybalt got up, and swaggered out "Oi! Eliseo! Uncle Tibby wants to play!"

Eliseo did not reappear.

"Well, where is he?" demanded Hermia "This is your fault!"

"My fault? He's YOUR kid, and YOU were too busy getting loved up with your Montague to keep an eye on him!"

Benvolio hurried downstairs, wrapping a dressing gown around himself "I heard shouting. What's going on?"

"Eliseo's missing!"

"But Tybalt was supposed to be keeping an eye on him!"

"He's not my kid!" snapped Tybalt "I hate kids!"

"Well, I hate you!" shouted Hermia loudly. Some more members of the Capulet came hurrying downstairs to see what the matter was.

"What's going?" asked Juliet.

"Tybalt has lost my baby!" wailed Hermia "Don't you know what danger we're all in right now? Demetrius is on the loose, and you know what he tried to do when my poor baby was about to be born!"

"There's no good standing around arguing" said Juliet firmly "We need to find Eliseo, and find him fast. He can't have gone far, as he can only just toddle. The Capulet Manor is high-walled, and guarded with security cameras. He can't have left the estate from the closest exit. There are gardeners working who may have spotted him. Let's go out now and find him before he goes any further. And chances are, he will hear one of us calling and come to us"

"What if he's fallen in the fountain!" cried Benvolio.

"Allegra fell in when she was little!" Hermia cried, remembering "If she hadn't been pulled out in time, she'd have drowned!"

"What if he's drowned!" Benvolio gasped.

"Or what if he's fallen off some steps and cracked his head!"

"Or if he's crawled off Capulet land and onto Angelo's land and Gabriel's horse has trampled on him!"

"My poor baby!" screeched Hermia.

"Enough!" cried Juliet "Come on, let's go and look for him. If he has managed to crawl onto Angelo's land, which I doubt because he'd need to walk for a mile, then one of us must call Angelo's housekeeper and get Angelo's security guards to look for him. But it's not likely, he'd have to go up and round, and over some hills, or out of the front gate and across a road"

"Roads!" gasped Hermia and Benvolio.

The Capulets ran out of their Manor and hurried around their land, calling for Eliseo. After ten minutes of futile searching, Lord Capulet came marching out himself, yelling at Tybalt for being so irresponsible.

"He's not my kid!" Tybalt protested.

"He's a Capulet!" roared Lord Capulet.

"His name is Eliseo Montague!" Tybalt yelled back.

"He's still my grandson!" bellowed Lord Capulet.

"He's nothing to do with me!"

"He's your cousin's baby!"

"What do we do? I've asked the gardeners, and the security guards, and none of them have seen him!" wept Hermia.

"Let's ring Angelo's housekeeper. He might have got that far by now" said Juliet firmly. She made a few steps towards the phone, when, as if by magic, it began to ring.

"It's ringing!" said Tybalt.

"Well, answer it then, you idiot!" snapped Lord Capulet. Tybalt picked the phone up off the receiver.

"Who is this?" asked Tybalt.

"Hello, Capulets" replied a silky voice in English.

"They're talking English" frowned Tybalt.

"They said hello, everyone knows that!" Hermia snapped, grabbing the receiver "Hello, who speak?" she asked in English.

"It's her!" hissed the voice.

"Edouard?" scowled Hermia.

"_Prince_ Edouard" corrected Edouard "You might want to show me some curtsey. After all, we've got your brat"

"You mean Eliseo? You give him back!" demanded Hermia.

"I'd prefer not too" retorted Edouard.

"Give him back!" roared Hermia "He baby! He done none to you! None!"

"I have someone who wants to speak to you" Edouard replied.

"Hello, slut" said a familiar voice in Italian.

"Demetrius!" squealed Hermia.

"Yes, whore. I suppose you must be wanting to know where your brat is?"

"Give him back!" Benvolio yelled, grabbing the phone.

"Daddy!" shrieked Eliseo from the other end of the phone.

"He's got him! He's got him!" Hermia yelped. She grabbed back the phone "Where are you? Where's my baby!"

"A little closer to home than realised. Tell Mercutio to come outside and look up at the roof of the palace, and he'll be able to see his godson"

"They're on the roof of the palace!" shouted Benvolio.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go now!" cried Hermia.

"Wait! You need to get dressed!" protested Juliet.

* * *

At the palace, everyone was quiet and subdued. For once, peace hung over the air. Servants cleared up the wreckage, shaking their heads. It seemed that no one was awake yet, either. Many muttered and whispered amongst themselves about how, as usual, Mercutio had started all the chaos. Many were shocked to see how such highborn and royal people could engage in such ridiculous behaviour.

As expected, Escalus could be heard shouting at Mercutio from the other end of the palace. Anne woke up in Richard's bed, and smiled mischievously at him. Henry Tudor scrawled the word 'TWAT' on Edouard's bedroom door. Banquo joined Fleance for a pot of tea on the terrace, both of them nursing headaches from the night before. Queen Elizabeth brushed her daughter's hair, whilst shaking her head at King Edward, as he lay in bed groaning with a hangover. Hamlet scrawled in his diary the depressing details of the previous day, and Macbeth once again dusted the dirt off of his kilt.

In the offices, where the politicians were slowly getting back to work, Rosaline stood explaining something to her mother.

"So, as you see, mum, you are still within your rights to call yourself Lady Oftmoro" said Rosaline.

"But I don't understand. We lost our money, we lost our home. We're not the wealthy Oftmoros anymore"

"We might not have our house or our money, but you are still a Lord's daughter" Rosaline explained patiently "Grandpa always called himself Lord Oftmoro, even after he lost the house and money. We still have the title, no matter what we do. And, the lordship, or ladyship, in your case, is hereditary. You are Lady Oftmoro"

"But I'm not rich!" protested Camilla "I used to live on the Burry Estate, and now I share an apartment with my sister, funded by her divorce settlement"

"You're not rich _yet_" replied Rosaline "Leave that to me. In fact, leave regaining the house, regaining the heirlooms, and regaining our riches to me"

Camilla gazed proudly at her "You've already got back our diamonds"

Rosaline stroked the necklace proudly "Paid for by my first business investment, which was funded by last year's savings from my part-time job. Oh, and by the way, you see this room we're standing in?"

"Yes" said Camilla "It was my father's old study, when he was still in government. I haven't been here for years"

"Well, you are well within your rights to use it. As Lady Oftmoro, you have every right to sit in the House of Lords, alongside Uncle Egues, Lord Montague, and Lord Lancely. And I am to be called Lady Rosaline, and I can come and sit in government whenever you are absent"

"I couldn't sit in government!" cried Camilla.

"Yes, you could" said Rosaline.

"Angelo sits in government"

"And? You are of a higher rank than he is. Just think how good it will feel, when you sit above him, and he comes crawling to you for votes and support. Think of the influence you'll hold over your supporters"

"This is mad...I never thought I'd see the day when...oh, Rosaline, I am so proud of you!"

Rosaline rushed into her mother's arms. They hugged, and then Rosaline pulled away. She opened her mouth to say something, when there was a scream.

They both rushed to the window. Rosaline flung it open, and poked her head out. She and Camilla looked down at the ground, where a small crowd was gathered, consisting of several members of the government, and the guests, who mainly wore pyjamas.

"Put Eliseo down!" screeched Hermia.

"How about, never!" yelled Demetrius. Edouard cackled.

Rosaline and Camilla looked up. Edouard and Demetrius were leaning off the roof of the palace, where Demetrius was holding Eliseo!

"Give our son back at once!" shouted Benvolio.

"No!" snapped Edouard.

"Mummy!" cried Eliseo "Daddy!"


	17. New Allies

ComedyMonarchy - Thanks so much for your review! Tybalt is a rubbish babysitter!

RichardIII1955 - They are, aren't they! Eliseo was just toddling around in the garden and then they snatch him! Evil!

Oh no! Eliseo is being held hostage! Will Hermia and Benvolio be able to save their darling in time? And will the City States of Italy decide who to support in the Wars of the Roses?

* * *

"What the hell is going on!" demanded Rosaline, rushing out of the palace and into the crowd. Her mother followed, and Rosaline eventually spotted her father Angelo among the spectators. She hurried over to him "Dad! What's going on?"

"Edouard and Demetrius have kidnapped Eliseo!"

"But why?" gaped Rosaline.

"Demetrius has struck an alliance with the Lancaster Prince. He's offering him money, an army, and the support of the Menelaus family in exchange for revenge upon Hermia. I assume this must be the revenge"

"He's evil!" gasped Rosaline "I knew we should have let Tybalt kill him!"

"Shush!"

"Edouard!" thundered King Edward "Put the baby down at once! Take him back to his parents"

"Don't tell me what to do, you usurping tyrant! I am prince! Prince! I'll never bow before you!"

"Don't talk to my brother like that!" shouted Richard.

"Richard! Why are you wearing a bedsheet?" asked George.

"I didn't have any clothes on"

"Why not?" Edward grinned. He and George both glanced over at the same time towards Anne, who was trying to look nonchalant, whilst wearing a duvet which matched the bedsheet.

"It's got blood on it" stated George.

"I had a nose bleed" lied Richard.

Edward whistled. He raised his eyebrows, and glanced over at Anne. Then he turned back to his brother and winked.

"Well, I'm going back inside to get changed!" said Richard quickly, blushing red. His brothers laughed as he ran back along the terrace and indoors.

"I command you to return Eliseo to his parents!" shouted Escalus "Both of you! This is not funny!"

"It's not supposed to be funny!" snapped Demetrius. He quickly translated Escalus' words into English for Edouard, who then leant over the wall and hissed at them.

"But it was funny when Mercutio picked up my mattress and kicked it down the stairs, with me inside!"

"Prince Edouard says it was funny when Mercutio picked up his mattress and kicked it down the stairs with him inside" said a translator.

"Well, yes" replied Mercutio.

"Shut up!" Benvolio snapped to him "If this has anything to do with your stupidity, then I'll-"

"Ben, leave Merc alone! He's got nothing to do with this! We just want Eliseo back!" insisted Hermia, shaking him.

"Please, Demetrius, just give my nephew back!" pleaded Romeo "He hasn't done anything to hurt you!"

"Oh, but his slut of a mother has" seethed Demetrius.

"My sister is not a slut!" Juliet shouted.

"I don't care where you think I'm a slut or not, just give my baby back!" cried Hermia.

"How the bloody hell did they even get up on the roof?" asked Angelo.

"The same way I get up there" replied Mercutio "There are a few secret passages in the palace, and one leads up to the roof. I've showed it to Romeo and Benvolio, which is how we drew the giant cock on the roof"

"So it was you who drew the penis!" said Escalus.

"Oops. Teehee" said Mercutio.

"Stop playing around!" Benvolio grabbed hold of Mercutio and shook him "It's not funny! Take me up on the roof this instance!"

"And me! I'll come too!" Hermia stormed up to Mercutio.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Escalus.

"I don't need your stupid royal word of approval, he's got my baby!" shrieked Hermia.

Mercutio led the parents up to the secret passage. Back out on the lawn, even more people had gathered. Even Hamlet had crawled out of his darkened room and squinted in the sunlight up at the poor baby. Eliseo cried loudly. Demetrius stood near the each, holding him tightly, so that the Italians and their guests could see the threat very clearly. Edouard stood beside him, scowling at everyone.

"How could your son do such a thing?" snarled Lord Capulet, turning to Edouard's mother and addressing her in English.

"Edouard has his reasons. They've been provoking him the whole time" Margaret retorted.

"By doing what? What could possibly justify the kidnap of an innocent child?"

"Calling him names!"

"Name-calling? Oh for god's sake! I've been called far worse than a poohead and a bum-face, but I haven't kidnapped anyone's child!" Lord Capulet hissed.

"And the food fight!" seethed Margaret "They all attacked him!"

"He had it coming" King Edward shrugged. The Yorkists all laughed.

"They're on their way up there" said Mercutio, walking back out "Benvolio made me come back out in case I wound them up anymore"

"And rightly so. If you hadn't been calling Edouard stupid names the whole time, then this never would have happened!" hissed Lord Montague.

"You're so mean, Edouard!" Henry shouted.

"Shut your mouth, twerp!" Edouard yelled at his cousin.

"Don't call me a twerp!" shrieked Henry.

"I'll call you what I want, because I'm Prince Edouard!"

"You're Prince Prat as far as I'm concerned" retorted Macbeth "Malcolm and Donalbain don't act like you"

"Yeah" said Malcolm.

"Yeah, you heard him" added Donalbain "And neither does Hamlet!"

"Or Sofia!" added Mercutio, after hearing the translation "Sof's a great kid, right, Uncle Es?"

"Yes!" said Sofia "Mercutio, will you tell me a Queen Mab story sometime?"

"No! No more Queen Mab stories! I don't want her asking me where babies come from for another two years!" scolded Escalus.

"But daddy, I like Queen Mab!" whined Sofia.

"Oh, Edouard! It seems we have company!" sang Demetrius "Here come mummy and daddy for baby!"

"Give him back, right away!" hissed Hermia.

"Mummy!" crowed Eliseo joyfully, reaching out for her.

"Hello, sweetheart. I've come to get you and take you back home"

"As if!" snorted Demetrius. Eliseo fidgeted, trying to reach for Hermia. Demetrius struggled, trying to keep hold of him "Stay still!"

"No! Want mummy! Want daddy!"

"Stop it!" snarled Edouard in Eliseo's face. Eliseo's lip wobbled, and he looked like he was about to cry again "Or it's rock-a-bye-baby off the rooftop!"

"You dare!" snarled Hermia. She marched forwards, and Benvolio ran after to stop her, as the closer they ran to Eliseo, the closer Demetrius walked to the edge with Eliseo. Eliseo was struggling even harder now, his face turning pink with desperation to be free.

"Want mummy!" he screamed "Want daddy!"

Angrily, Demetrius stormed closer to the edge. Hermia's heart skipped a beat. The crowd, who were talking, suddenly fell silent.

"Put him down" said Hermia quietly.

"No" hissed Demetrius, standing against the wall that ran around the edge of the roof. Eliseo squirmed even more, squealing and whining to be free.

"Mummy! Want mummy!"

"Please" begged Hermia "He's a baby. He's a year old. Don't hurt him..."

"Don't hurt him, he's got nothing to do with this!" cried Benvolio, holding onto Hermia, his knuckles white with fear.

"He's got everything to do with!" snapped Demetrius "You locked me up in a rotten prison cell, full of brainless twats, for almost two years. I'm going to make you feel it. I lost two years of my life, my youth, my health, and now you'll lose your son. Perhaps now you'll know, you lying little slut!"

"We asked you for aid so that we could gain our rightful throne" snarled Edouard "But you mocked me and ridiculed me, with all your pathetic names and stupid forms of 'entertainment' like that disgusting pantomime. I lost my throne, you'll lose your son"

"What did he say?" asked Benvolio. Hermia quickly translated for him, and then turned back to Edouard.

"I nothing to do with England war! I am Lord Capulet bastard! I know not politic! And not Eliseo! Please, he terrified!"

"You made fun of me" hissed Edouard "No one makes fun of a king and gets away with it! Say goodbye to your brat!"

"We made fun of you, yes!" cried Hermia "But we make fun of everyone!" she ran to the edge of the roof, and looked down at the crowd. Demetrius held Eliseo away from his body over the wall, not quite over the edge, but the threat was there. Hermia tried not to think about it "Oi! Hamlet! How many time Mercutio call you emo?"

"Everyday!"

"Would you kidnap baby?"

"No!"

"Well, they're weaklings!" Edouard declared "Go on, Demetrius! Throw him off the edge! I can't wait to get my army and kill the Yorkist pretenders!"

Eliseo wailed, twisting, trying to break free "Mummy!"

"EDOUARD AND DEMETRIUS, YOU PAIR OF CUNTS!" roared Mercutio, from down on the ground "PUT HIM DOWN!"

"Oh, what was that? Put him down on the floor?" asked Demetrius sarcastically "Gladly!"

And with that, he swung Eliseo over the edge of the roof. Hermia tried to run towards him, but Demetrius let go with one hand, so that the only thing keeping Eliseo from dropping to the ground was Demetrius' grip on the collar of his sleepy suit. Benvolio pulled her back away from them, hoping Demetrius would pull Eliseo back in turn. He did not. Eliseo swayed dangerously. He cried even louder, his green eyes wide with fear. His little curls blew in the breeze.

"Mummy!" he screamed, reaching his arms out desperately for Hermia "Daddy!"

Tears poured down Hermia's cheeks "Let him go. Please"

"Ok" said Demetrius calmly. He dropped the baby. Eliseo's scream punctured the air. Hermia heard the people below scream as well, and she sank to the floor with a moan full of agony. Benvolio let go of her, and rushed to the edge of the roof. He knew what he was going to see. His son's tiny little body, crushed and lying in a puddle of his own blood. But he had to make see it to believe it, that his beloved little boy was truly gone.

The crowd were silent. Benvolio peered over, feeling sick to his stomach. He did not see Eliseo lying on the distant floor. He did not see any blood. What he saw, was Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, the so-called evil hunchback, standing on a balcony a few metres below him. And in Richard's arms, quite safe, quite well, was Eliseo.

"No!" screeched Edouard "No! He was supposed to die! The brat was supposed to die!"

"You sicko!" spat Richard, as Eliseo clutched him tightly "I don't like children, but I'd never throw a defenceless baby off the roof!"

"Hermia, come here! He's all right!" yelled Benvolio. Hermia picked herself up off the floor, and crawled over to the edge. Dizzily, she peered over. Richard held Eliseo.

"Mummy! Daddy!" he called. Hermia cried with relief, and sank her head on Benvolio's shoulder. Armed guards soon rushed up on the roof, and grabbed Edouard and Demetrius. Both men screamed angrily, and struggled. But there was no mercy from the guards. They dragged them down the stairs, Hermia and Benvolio following. The crowd from outside met them on a floor in the middle, and Richard rushed down to meet the anxious parents. He found them easily enough.

"I believe this strapping young man belongs to you" said Richard, passing Eliseo to Hermia and Benvolio. Hermia seized him in her arms, and he threw his arms around her neck, his little hands grasping her hair, and snuggled in closely. Benvolio wrapped his arms around them both, kissed the top of Eliseo's curls, before taking Richard's hand to shake.

"Grazie"

"Sei il benvenuto" replied Richard "You are welcome"

Suddenly, he felt a pair of arms being thrown around him. He turned around to see Anne beaming at him "Oh, Richard! You saved little Eliseo! Oh, how I love you! Oh, Richard!"

"She what?" screamed Edouard "He's stolen my wife!"

"Sod the alliance, and sod you! I'd rather be a beggar than your queen!" shout Anne.

"Anne is her own person and she can be with whoever she wants!" Richard snapped back. Edouard was about to yell back, but he suddenly felt himself being tackled in handcuffs.

"Wait, no! You can't do this!" screamed Edouard "I am a prince!"

"You're a fucking evil prince, that's what you are!" roared Juliet.

"You almost killed my grandson!" Lord Capulet roared, even louder "Expect no support from Verona! Our side is with York! To hell with the Lancasters!"

"You heard him!" shouted Escalus "I would ask all of the rulers of the Italian city states to call a conference to declare our support in the Wars of the Roses immediately! Guards, detain each and every Lancaster that has been invited to Verona. I want to know exactly who was involved with this vicious plot. But harm no children, and no innocents, unless they show you violence first. I want them to be brought to a conference room, and watched closely. Do not harm them. As for Edouard, keep him guarded closely in confinement, away from Demetrius. I want a translator to explain what is occurring to each of the Lancasters, and why they are being guarded"

"I'll call Gabriel right away. He's better than any of the translators we have hanging arounf the palace. He'll only be too happy to help" said Amparo.

All was done as Escalus instructed. Angelo and Amparo sat beside Escalus in the conference room, as each and every ruler of each and every city state in Italy agreed that their best interests lay in supporting the Yorkist cause.

Which was exactly as Amparo had suggested only a few weeks ago.

"We'll go and tell them right away" said Escalus "I will deliver judgement, as it was a child from my city, who I know personally"

"Escalus, are you sure this is wise?" asked Amparo.

"Of course!"

"Think about the long-term repercussions" said Amparo "I know that we now plan to aid King Edward with over two thousand men at arms and weapons, but suppose in spite of our assistance, it goes the other way, and the Lancasters win the war. You have just as good as declared war upon England. When they recover from their civil war, it will be Verona they turn to destroy next. Wouldn't it be more prudent, say, to chose someone who is not of royal blood to deliver judgement upon Edouard and his family?"

"How would this be more advantageous?" asked Escalus.

"Because you will be Prince for the rest of your life, and therefore, you will be a threat to them for the rest of your life. Someone who is...electable, say, would be less of a threat to them" replied Amparo.

"She's right" marvelled Duke Gonzaga.

Angelo saw through the plan immediately. Amparo wanted glory by delivering justice to the Lancaster heir. Well, he was not going to let her get away with this!

"Escalus, I would be honoured to dispense justice" said Angelo.

"There you go" said Amparo firmly "Angelo has offered to do it. I would not see your life at risk, Escalus"

"Thank you, Amparo" said Escalus "We'll go at once. Do we have a translator?"

"I have phoned Gabriel and he is on his way immediately. He speaks English better than many of the translators we have at hand" replied Amparo.

"Excellent" said Escalus "You should be proud of your boy, Angelo"

_'Even though he once called you a cunt?'_ thought Angelo, but he suppressed that thought. He led the party of Italian rulers into the conference room. Edouard sat sulking at a table. The rest of his family stood behind him. They did not appear to have been harmed, but many were shaken.

Gabriel himself sat between Angelo and the Lancasters. Angelo took a seat in front of the other Italian rulers, and looked along the Lancasters. He remembered the previous Lancaster King – Henry V, although he had instructed them all to call him Hal, very well. He had been a very military minded man, but had also enjoyed a bit of fun once in a while. It was hard to believe that the sweet, pious man, Henry VI, or Holy Harry, as many called him, was his son. They were almost as different as he and Gabriel.

"Gabriel, tell Prince Edouard that I would like him to tell me his side of the story" said Angelo.

Gabriel turned and repeated his words to Edouard, who snapped back something that Angelo could only guess were swearwords.

"Prince Edouard would like me to tell you to fuck off and stuff your head up your arse, you are no king or prince" said Gabriel.

"Tell Prince Edouard that this is his one chance for fair judgement from the Italian city states. Then ask him for his side of the story once again"

Gabriel did.

"Prince Edouard says that he wanted his army, and that he assisted Demetrius Menelaus in his revenge against Hermia Capulet in order to gain the assistance of the Menelaus family in his wars. Demetrius promised Edouard an army of two hundred men, and a large sum of money with which to buy weapons and supplies to feed his army"

"And did Prince Edouard know that would involve endangering the life of an innocent child who committed no harm?"

"Prince Edouard says that he did, and that he does not care. He says that he is the rightful prince, and that the Yorkists should be..." Gabriel trailed off "Shall I translate this? It's quite disturbing"

"I think I get the picture" sighed Angelo "Were any other Lancasters aware of Prince Edouard's actions before he decided to help Demetrius dangle Eliseo off the roof?"

Gabriel turned and translated.

"No. They were not. The crime was Edouard's doing, and Edouard's alone"

"Would the Lancasters like to say anything in defence for themselves?"

King Henry shuffled forwards. Unlike many other many members of his family, he was dressed simply, and plainly, and wore a silver crucifix around his neck. He bent to his knees, and then addressed Gabriel. Gabriel looked upset, and then he turned to Angelo.

"King Henry would like to ask for mercy for his son. He understands that his son's actions were cruel and evil, and that he deserves punishment, but he said that in spite of his son's misgivings, he has no choice but to love and protect Edouard, for he is his only child, his only son, just as..." Gabriel trailed off as poor Harry spoke again "Just as I am your child, and you would not want to see me come to harm"

Angelo looked surprised. Neither he nor Gabriel had mentioned or introduced themselves as father and son to the guests.

"How does he know?" frowned Angelo.

"King Henry says that he recognises the way you look at me. He says it is the way he looks at Edouard. As though we are strangers bound by blood"

Angelo looked confused "Tell King Henry that mercy he will get. I mean no harm to any one"

"Grazie" replied King Henry, bowing his head, and then standing upright.

The door banged open. Richard stood, clutching Henry Tudor, who was for some reason, wearing a dress, by the arm.

"I caught this Lancaster kid escaping dressed as a girl!"

King Edward roared with laughter at the sight of Henry, who looked sulky. His family joined in, pointing and laughing at Henry. Henry scowled furiously, and wrenched his arm free of Richard.

"I'll get you for this!" he shrieked "I'll get you all! You stole my childhood and my future! One day, when I'm big and strong, I'll come back and bash you all up!"

"Henry, you're twelve" dismissed Richard "What are you going to do? Throw your homework at me?"

"Angelo commands you all to stop it!" Gabriel shouted "Henry, sit down with your family. Richard, he's twelve. He was frightened. Leave him alone"

Henry's lower lip jutted out, and he ran and sat down next to the rest of the Lancasters, hugging his knees, looking and feeling truly ridiculous in the dress.

"Edouard of Lancaster" said Angelo "Stand before the rulers of the Italian city states. We have passed judgement on you"

Gabriel turned, and repeated it in English. Edouard stomped forwards, looking like a sulky child.

"Angelo Fulgencio says that in Verona, we protect our children. We protect and nurture the young and the weak. We do no harm to the innocents. Those who would harm our children will be punished. Your father has asked for mercy. Your fate from the Italian city states is far more merciful than a disgusting psychopath like you deserves. You are banished" said Gabriel clearly "You have twenty four hours to gather your belongings and leave. No harm will come to you, no one will stop you. But if you stay, and if you cause more hurt, then your life will be the forfeit"

"That's not fair, I'm a prince!"

"He says he is a prince" said Gabriel in Italian.

"Prince or no prince, a crime is a crime. I will not see innocent children harmed in my city" scowled Escalus.

"We will not see innocent children harmed in our country!" added the Duke of Milan.

Gabriel turned, and repeated this. Angelo sighed, and then turned to the remaining Lancastrians. He spoke briefly in Italian, and then Gabriel addressed them in English once more.

"You are guiltless of any crime, and mercy will be shown to you. But you would back this evil young man and support his claim to the throne, when he clearly is insane and incapable of ruling. The Italian City States have declared their support for the Yorkist cause. We feel that King Edward will bring peace and restoring safe trade in Europe, which would be advantageous to us and our allies. However, we promise you safe conduct. You may stay for the duration of the celebrations. No harm will come to you. Verona has seen enough of feuds and fighting, and we will not revive it at any cost. You may leave with Prince Edouard if you wish. No one will stop you. But if you attempt to aid him in any way, if he attempts to involve you in cruelty, and you consent, then you will also be at the mercy of us. If you would forsake your previous support of the Lancaster cause, and pledge to us, and to York, it will no longer be as cousins. It will be as brothers, and sisters!"

The passionate Lancastrians scowled and muttered amongst themselves. The Yorkists, meanwhile, cheered. Margaret looked furious, and snapped something angrily in English to Gabriel.

"Queen Margaret says that we have made a grave mistake"

"What is so mistakable about declining to support a psychopath?" Angelo shook his head. The Italians laughed. Amparo smiled, noticing some reporters around the room. Angelo looked smug, and proud of himself.

It was quite sad, really.

He didn't know he was screwed.


	18. Rumours

Comedy Monarchy - So there you have it. The REAL reason for the Battle of Bosworth...Richard caught Henry in a dress!

RichardIII1955 - Thanks so much! You've been a great help to me, my friend! Sod off, Edouard!

Uh oh! Angelo's pissed off the Lancasters! What will happen next?

* * *

"_Lancasters declare war on Verona_" Gabriel read aloud "Ouch"

Amparo tittered, and took the paper from him "A dramatic ending to a dramatic wedding"

"At least Demetrius will face rightful justice. At last" Gabriel sighed. He turned to Alexei, as he waved his arms in the air "I feel that Alexei is safer now"

"As do I" agreed Amparo.

"What do you think will happen to him?"

"Probably a prison sentence. And for a couple of years at least, although it is likely he could be facing life" replied Amparo. She looked smart today, wearing a navy trouser suit that matched Gabriel's eyes.

"You look nice" said Gabriel "Are you doing anything important at work today?"

"I'm filling in the Deputy spot today. Angelo is taking the day off" replied Amparo "He claims he is sick. I think it's stress. The Lancasters are pinpointing at him, because he was the one to pass judgement on Edouard"

"Oops" giggled Gabriel "Well, I wonder how Henry is doing"

"Which one?"

"Tudor. He was a sweet kid. I feel bad for him"

"Me too. Having Edouard for a cousin. I even think Hermia would agree that having Tybalt for a cousin is marginally better"

Gabriel giggled delightedly. Amparo put down the newspaper.

"We best be off. I want to get there early and make a good impression. After all, I am the woman who will bring the party into a glorious new life, who will revolutionize Verona politically, economically, socially...and I believe I forgot to mention. My sister Elvira and Isabella are coming over tonight"

"Oh, ok! That's fine. Show my angelcakes off for me"

"I will"

After Juliet's old nurse arrived to take care of Alexei, they both left for work. Gabriel lost himself in dance rehearsal to the music and melody, and Amparo lost herself to political plots. She was home before Gabriel, as usual. Elvira arrived at around seven, and Isabella shortly after.

Elvira Martelli was her middle sister, and worked as a scientific journalist. She was the plainest out of Amparo and her sisters, and probably the dark horse in the family. Amparo was thirty four, and she was three years younger. Their youngest sister, Santana, was twenty eight. The sisters were certainly close, and kept their eyes out for each other. There were definitely times when Amparo was grateful for having one sister who was a journalist, and another who was a doctor. Elvira was certainly grateful for having a sister with her fingers in all the different political webs, and for Santana having her fingers in all the different medical webs. They were independent, and yet co-dependent.

By the time Gabriel arrived home, the work was done. To him, it seemed like an innocent scene. The women were sitting around, drinking coffee, and gushing over Alexei, who was wearing his baby grow that said _'If you think I'm handsome, you should see my daddy'_

Gabriel picked him up right away for a cuddle. Father and son held each other tightly, as Angelo lay slumped on the sofa, alone, a glass of wine and a cigarette in each hand.

It was bad. The biopsy...it was bad.

* * *

A couple of days later, after Angelo had repeatedly called in sick, leaving Amparo to take his place, Gabriel was in rehearsal. He lifted the prince, and twirled. Rene nodded his approval.

"Bee-oo-tey-ful, as always, Gabriel" he cooed. He turned to the boy playing the prince "Stand up straight! Gabriel not 'ere to do all ze work!"

"How come Gabriel gets all the praise?" whined the prince.

"Gabriel ez good dancer! You lazy!" snapped Rene.

"Ignore him" muttered Gabriel. The poor boy sighed, and then got in position to begin the dance again.

"You worse zan ze bebies I teach!" Rene snapped again.

"Oh, give him a break, Rene, we've been dancing all morning!" retorted Gabriel. The boy glanced at him, surprised.

"I no care! Get on weth ze dance" Rene rolled his eyes. He turned to see his boyfriend, Silvio, the company's main financer "_Mon amie_! 'ow are you?"

"Read this" Silvio handed Rene a newspaper.

"Gabriel's daddy a pervert?"

"My father's a what?" Gabriel stopped dancing and walked over, panting a little from the energy of rehearsal.

" 'e 'arrass work colleague!" exclaimed Rene dramatically "Naughty man!"

Gabriel reached for the paper and looked at it. The other dancers walked over and peered over his shoulder.

"Don't read over my shoulder!" snapped Gabriel, spinning around "Jesus Christ! He's such a creep!"

" 'e in lot of trouble!" exclaimed Rene "Silvio, you 'ear more 'bout ziz?"

"It's on the news, and on Twitter" said Silvio "People want him to resign"

"If Angelo resign, zen zat mean only 'un thing!"

"And what's that?" asked Gabriel.

"Zere must be a new Deputy!" exclaimed Rene.

"Good. He's weaker than a nun's piss" stated one of the dancers "Sorry, Gabriel"

"That's ok. I agree with your character assessment" said Gabriel.

" 'oo vill et be?" asked Rene "Girlfriend?"

"Amparo?" asked Gabriel "Hopefully"

"Gabriel, girlfriend vill be ze first female Deputy! And you vill be 'er First Man!" Rene cried, sounding pleased. The other dancers murmured with surprise, and some even murmured congratulations.

"It also says Angelo has been taking lots of time of work lately" Silvio read "And that he let Mercutio misbehave during the Royal Wedding, offending over half of Europe's royal courts, after being specifically told to keep an eye on him. He also caused the Lancasters to declare war on us by passing judgement on Edouard-"

"Edouard deserved it. He tried to kill Hermia and Benvolio's baby. That was merciful!" Gabriel retorted.

"Yes, but Edouard is heir to the Lancasters. They don't care whether he deserved it or whether it was mercy or not!"

"Well, I hope he dies the next time he fights the Yorkists" said Gabriel "Painfully"

"Yes, Gabriel, you right" said Rene " 'e rude 'bout our ballet!"

"He said it was crap" seethed one of the dancers.

"And he called us gay!"

"How are we gay for wanting to spend time with pretty ballerinas?" asked Gabriel.

"Yeah!" cheered all the danseurs. The ballerinas giggled.

"Ziz ez gay!" shouted Rene, kissing Silvio. He broke off and pirouetted "Ziz not gay! 'ow many times do I 'ave to repeat et! Ze stoo-pid people do not get et! I 'ate ze stoo-pid people! I want to kick zem!"

"All right, Rene! Keep your pointe shoes on!" instructed Gabriel, but he was laughing at his eccentric teacher.

"Vell, I make ze time twelve. I thenk et ez time for lunch. Unless you fat"

"Rude!" Gabriel called after him. Rene stuck up his middle finger. Gabriel laughed. He loved his dance teacher. He loved dancing. He loved these people. This was where he belonged.

It was only then he realised he was still holding the paper. He looked at Angelo's picture.

No. That time of his life was over. Angelo deserved whatever he got from this point onwards.

* * *

"For the upcoming Deputorial debates, you don't need to worry. I will fill in for Angelo and debate on behalf of our party until we can find a suitable replacement" announced Amparo, smiling warmly at the party. They stared back, stunned.

"I don't understand" said Clive "Angelo hasn't resigned!"

"But it looks highly likely at this point. Harassment is a serious issue in the work place, and I doubt anyone would want to vote for a man who sexually harasses people. And if Angelo is unelectable, then we are unelectable. And we are a party. We are a team. We have to think in terms of what is best for us as a group" replied Amparo.

"Who says you can fill in for Angelo?" scowled Ralph, his leg still in a cast from where he had 'fallen' down the stairs.

"Well, that's what I have been doing for the past few weeks when he has been too sick to work"

The door opened, and the man himself stood there.

"What's going on?" demanded Angelo, storming in. He was followed by Juno, his new publicist "Amparo, why are you sitting in my chair?"

"I thought you were absent today. As you were the previous day, and the day before that, and the day before that"

Amparo's supporters sniggered.

"Well, I'm here now" said Angelo firmly.

"Perhaps now you're here you'll clear a few questions for us" said Ralph.

"Of course"

"Is it true you're resigning?" asked Clive.

"Resigning? No!" snapped Angelo. He marched over to his chair and glared at Amparo "I'll have that back. Sit in your own seat"

Amparo stood up, keeping her back straight. She glanced back at Angelo with her dark eyes. Angelo shivered.

"And is this true?" asked Clive, lifting up the paper.

Angelo sighed "No"

"So is that the real reason you were suspended over the summer?" Ralph asked.

"It was, but she's lying. I'm not interested in her. I barely even spoke to her!"

The party looked at him.

"What about all the other rumours?" asked one of Amparo's supporters.

"Other rumours?" frowned Angelo.

"Yeah...the ones about you abusing your son"

"What!" roared Angelo "I didn't abuse him! He abused me! He's a brat!"

"And who made him a brat, Angelo?" asked Amparo.

"His mother"

"Who walked out when he was five. Who raised Gabriel for the remaining thirteen years of his life?" asked Amparo. Angelo opened and closed his mouth like a fish "Oh, and by the way, there's another interesting article in Woman's Weekly. A lady called Mariana claims you proposed to her, and then dumped her when her brother's business went bust"

"I did not! We mutually ended the engagement after Gabriel set a firework off up the chimney!"

Juno giggled hysterically. Angelo glared at him.

"I'm sorry...it's just...I gave him the firework...after I stole it from my dad's bonfire night collection...I didn't think he was really going to do and then he just did it and it was so funny!"

Angelo shook his head angrily "Anything else?"

"Did you really have Chlamydia when you were twenty five?"

"As if I'd admit to that!"

"So you did have Chlamydia!"

"No! I did not!"

"Were your great-grandparents really Nazis?"

"Yes, they were, but my parents had nothing to do with them, and neither did I" Angelo retorted "Are you finished? Because I'd like to discuss our electoral campaign. Juno has agreed to come in and start talking about the upcoming debates"

"It's a good job he's here. You'll need a very good slick-talker here to help you out of this mess" stated Amparo.

"I'm sure when you make your play for power they'll be some interesting stories about you two. Cougar shacks up with gender confused ballerina. That sounds amusing already!" snarled Angelo.

"Angelo!" gasped Ralph.

"What?" snapped Angelo.

"That was a bit uncalled for" said Ralph. Amparo's supporters were glaring at him. One of them was patting Amparo's hand and instructing her to ignore him.

"Let's move on" said Clive "Do you know if we have support from the nobility families yet?"

"The Montagues have said they'll support us, but only if Angelo steps down" said Amparo "If we want the support of the Montagues, then if Angelo truly cares about the interests of our party, then he'll step down"

"No!" yelled Angelo.

"Calm down, dear" said Amparo patronizingly.

"I worked so hard to get here. I'm not giving up now. I still have years left in my career"

"What about the Capulets?" asked Clive, trying again to change the topic.

"They haven't said anything" said Amparo.

"The Lancelys?"

"Too preoccupied with Helena's marriage"

"The Oftmoros, then"

"The Oftmoros are finished"

"No, they're not" said Angelo.

"Really? I seem to recall you being a factor in their destruction. Please, elaborate" replied Amparo.

"My Rosaline has discovered that whilst the house and lands were repossessed under loans created on them, the title remained intact. My ex wife is Lady Oftmoro, and they still have their seat in the Council of Lords. Rosaline is making profitable investments in the stock market with some of the money I gave to her as a wedding gift. Very soon, there will be enough for her to reclaim their house. My ex wife Camilla intends to abdicate in Rosaline's favour. My daughter as Lady Oftmoro, and her consort is a Capulet. My daughter will support us. Her husband, and his family, will support us. There are family ties between us. As long as I stay in power, the support of the Oftmoros and Capulets is ours. So, Amparo, I am not going anywhere"


	19. Angelo's Secret

RichardIII1955 - They do deserve it! But Edouard will get what he deserves at the Battle of Tewkesbury. And Alexei is a little angel! I should give him more screen time.

Well, that told Amparo! Is Angelo going to be able to pull off another electoral victory?

* * *

"These debates for Deputy" explained Juliet "We have prince, we have deputy, who help him, rule when prince not here. Like prime minister"

"That is Angelo" Hermia pointed "You meet Angelo at wedding. That is Amparo. She work when Angelo sick"

"An-lo!" shrieked Eliseo, pointing. Hermia cuddled him as he fidgeted on her lap. Since his kidnap, Eliseo and Hermia had been practically glued at the hip. If Hermia so much as left the room, he would toddle after her. If Eliseo left her vision of sight, Hermia would look frantically for him.

"She very good" added Juliet.

"Angelo is Rosaline father" Hermia continued "We not like her. She is bitch"

"Like Queen Elizabeth!" added Anne. The girls all giggled "She looks down her nose at everyone!"

"So do Rosaline!"

"That Angelo rival" added Juliet, pointing to another man "He is conservative"

"He hate gays" Hermia scowled.

"He is pig" Juliet agreed. Anne giggled again. She was enjoying her extended stay in Italy. After Edouard and the Lancasters' banishment, Juliet had come to her aid, Hermia being too busy trying to calm down Eliseo. Like poor King Henry had for his ungrateful and undeserving son, Juliet knelt and asked for clemency. Amparo, the woman that Anne had confided in about Edouard's true nature, stepped forwards and granted it, arguing that Anne was not a Lancaster, only an unwitting bride. The Italian City States had taken Anne into their custody, and now she was staying with the Capulets, whilst the Lancasters and Yorkists returned to England to do battle.

She hoped Richard was all right...

They'd shared a few romantic dalliances whilst in Italy. With Edouard preoccupied by bullying Henry Tudor, or being irritated by Mercutio, or squaring off against freaky Gabriel, she and Richard had rekindled their childhood love for one another. He told her that when the war was done, he was going to come back and marry her, whether her father or Edouard liked it or not. But if Richard was going to come back, then chances were, her father and Edouard wouldn't be...

"There three main politic party in Verona" Juliet continued to explain "Angelo party Democratic Liberals, they left-wing. Vincent's party Verona Republicans, and they right-wing"

Hermia made a sick noise.

"Other party is left-wing, they call Verona Socialists" finished Juliet "It is start"

The debates were obviously in Italian, but the girls had put subtitles on. In the audience, Anne recognised Amparo, Rosaline, Gabriel, and Escalus himself was there.

"Oh, look. Rosaline" Juliet grimaced.

"I bet she love it, showing off on telly. My dad Deputy, blah blah"

Anne sniggered helplessly.

"Who will your family support?" she asked "I heard the noble families often choose a party to support"

"We support Angelo five year ago. We not decide yet. Rosaline say she support Angelo, but she not Lady Oftmoro yet, and her mother hate Angelo. Montague family support Democratic Liberals, if Angelo step down" explained Juliet.

"Why's that?" asked Anne.

"Angelo harass Isabella Montague" replied Juliet.

"But Angelo say he is innocent" added Hermia.

"Gabriel not speak to him"

"Rosaline believe Angelo, but she cold to him"

"I like Amparo" said Juliet "I support Democratic Liberals if she Deputy"

"I like her too" added Anne "She was kind to me"

"Angelo was nice to me" Hermia interrupted.

"I know. Strange he do that when he is creep" Juliet turned back to the television. They watched for a little while.

"This is boring" stated Hermia.

"No, it important!"

"Boring!" insisted Hermia "Anne, you bored?"

"No" said Anne politely.

"Yes!" Hermia said loudly "Play with cushions!"

"Play!" insisted Eliseo.

"No bury with cushion, we watch debate!"

"Bury with cushion!" insisted Hermia. She popped Eliseo down on the rug and dived under the cushion of her seat "Bury me!"

Eliseo giggled delightedly.

"Bury! Bury!" he insisted, grabbing a little one and bashing it against the sofa. Anne laughed. Juliet rolled her eyes, but got up and started to pile all the cushions on top of Hermia, who laughed. Only her head and toes poked out.

"Anne, sit!" instructed Hermia "Juliet, you sit!"

"Uno, due, tre!" shouted Juliet, leaping on top of her. Hermia shrieked with laughter, and Anne joined in. Eliseo shrieked too, and Juliet scooped him up to sit between her and Anne.

"Look!" yelled Hermia, suddenly pointing at the telly "Look! Angelo collapse!"

* * *

Angelo had arrived at the debate exhausted. He had hardly slept for the past few weeks. He felt sick and ill with stress. He had lost over half a stone, and his clothes were baggy. His hair felt lank and greasy. And he hadn't even started his treatment...

"Angelo, you'll be on set in five minutes" said the technician, as they wired up his microphone.

Angelo nodded dimly. The room was swirling a little. He tried to stay focused, and drink his water, but it made him need the loo. And it didn't taste right. He had a headache. In fact, every part of him ached.

Somehow, he stumbled on set and found his podium. Several members of his party sat in the audience. He found Amparo easily enough. Gabriel sat by her side, and Rosaline sat by Gabriel's side. She smiled at him, and Angelo smiled back. He felt better for her presence. He was so lucky to have such a lovely daughter.

The rest of the crowd didn't look impressed with him. Two years ago, when he made public appearances, there would be cheering. Now, there was silence. But how long before that became boos?

Lord Montague was in the audience. Angelo tried not to look at him. Isabella had always been little sister, and like any brother, he was protective of her. Angelo wanted to scream, wanted to yell, _'IT WASN'T ME!'_ as loudly as he could. He wanted to shake the man until he believed him, but it wasn't to be.

He knelt on the podium for support. It was hard enough trying to stand. If he was bad like this, how was he going to feel when he was having his treatment?

No one must know about the treatment. No one must know he was sick. His job was on the line enough as it was what with the now public accusation of harassment. Although he'd received a warning, most of the public were appalled. Who would want a Deputy who sexually harassed people?

_'But I didn't do it' _Angelo thought to himself.

_'But they don't know that' _sang a high-pitched voice, like Gabriel's.

"Hello, and welcome to the first of the Deputorial debates! We have with us..."

They were online. Angelo straightened. He tried to pretend this was five years ago, when he was young(er) and handsome, and the city was on his side. He tried to pretend he was about to win a landslide election, and he was about to lead a revolution, and change Verona for the better.

But it was no good. He opened his mouth, and tired, half-hearted words came out. He tried to drive energy and feeling into them, but he had no energy, and no feelings. He wanted to be out of here.

The crowd didn't like what he said. They wanted him to leave. They stamped their feet as he spoke, paying more attention to Vincent, the leader of the Verona Republicans. Why did they like him? They disliked Angelo because he had not brought the liberal reforms that he had promised, so they wanted to replace him with a conservative, who wouldn't introduce the liberal reforms that they wanted, and instead, take away everything that Angelo had done? It made no sense!

Rosaline smiled and nodded encouragingly, but Angelo could tell that even she knew something was wrong. Gabriel watched boredly. He was so out of place. Angelo had always thought his son would be good at politics, what with the manipulating people, and making sure the other person lost, but evidently, it was not to be. It really was a pity. He knew five languages, had firm beliefs and principles that he held onto tightly, and he wouldn't even put them to good use.

The words of his opponents turned from individual words into a buzz. The room began to spin and became a blur of colour. Angelo lifted his hand to see if he too was becoming a blur, and was too whoozy to recognise his own features.

"Angelo" someone said "Angelo!"

He didn't hear them. It was like he wasn't there. He wasn't on telly and no one was watching. Angelo felt himself grow fainter and fainter, and then everything closed in and swallowed him up.

"Oh my God!" shrieked Gabriel.

"Dad!" cried Rosaline. Both of his children came surging forwards. Followed after them was Amparo.

_'No. Not you. Go away'_ Angelo thought bitterly, laying semi-conscious on the floor _'Let me be'_

Juno, his publicist, rushed over.

"He needs smelling salts! Anyone got any smelling salts?"

"I've got some fish and chips" said a bum, sitting in the front row. Angelo closed his eyes, feeling someone raise his head and place their cool fingers across his brow.

"What do we do about the debate?" demanded Vincent.

Amparo stood up straight and spoke clearly, and calmly "I would be proud to represent the Democratic Liberals in this Deputorial debate"

Without so much as a backwards glance at Angelo, she strode over to his podium, and knocked aside his papers, which he had spent so much time preparing, and replied to the question that Angelo had been unable too. In the meantime, Juno and Gabriel glanced at one another, grabbed Angelo by his arms and dragged him off backstage, with Rosaline following.

Angelo didn't remember much else. He woke up in a hospital bed, and was told he had collapsed from exhaustion, and needed to get more rest. Great. And now the whole of Verona knew about it. If they knew he was unable to lead because he was he was so exhausted, they wouldn't vote for his party. The first person he saw was Juno, who explained that unless Angelo had another feasible explanation, then that story was the best explanation and if played correctly, could lead to the most desirable outcome. Angelo snorted. As if.

And that woman...that Amparo...like the bloody opportunitist she was, she had hopped in during his moment of weakness and finished the debate. And everyone _liked_ what she said. She was popular, and young. Now people were saying they'd vote for Angelo's party...but only if she was in charge.

Her words from a few weeks previously rang in his mind.

_'If Angelo cares about what's best for our party, he'll step down'_

He couldn't back down now. He couldn't stop. He'd sacrificed so much to get where he was now. He'd sacrificed his privacy. The paparazzi were always raiding his bins and trying to film him whenever he left his house. He'd sacrificed his personal life and romantic relationships. His marriages had soured due to the pressures of his fame, and being easily recognised, he couldn't go to the pub for a pint like a normal man, or go out clubbing, or dating events. It sucked, as Angelo enjoyed dating and going out and meeting people. He'd sacrificed his relationship with his children. He'd stayed out of Rosaline's life to keep the paparazzi away from her, and had avoided making contact in order to avoid any negative attention from the press. And Gabriel...well...he didn't need to get started on Gabriel.

He was home by the afternoon. He didn't switch on the television, or his phone, or log onto Facebook or Twitter, because he knew that he would be confronted with outrageous rumours and gossip about his fainting. Oh, and there would be praise for Amparo, of course, because of how calmly she had handled the situation, how willing she was to represent her party and led them to success.

And, quite frankly, Angelo didn't want to hear anymore.

But maybe now it was time. In spite of Juno's words, it was inevitable now that people would discover he was ill. They already believed he was a pervert, and Angelo realised he would need to tell his children first before they heard any second-hand rumours and came to their own conclusions.

* * *

"Why have you invited us here?" demanded Gabriel, rudely stomping through the front door.

"It would have been polite to knock"

"I have a key. I live here"

"_Used _to live here" corrected Angelo.

Gabriel scowled "Well, why have you invited us here?"

"Perhaps a 'Hello, dad. How are you feeling?' would have been nice as well"

"How are you, dad?" asked Rosaline, before Gabriel could open his mouth again.

"I am fine, thank you. I am feeling better for a night's sleep" replied Angelo.

"That's good. I'm glad to hear it" said Rosaline. She turned and raised her eyebrows at Gabriel.

"Thanks, Rosaline" Angelo hugged her, patting her golden hair as he did so. Gabriel watched on ambiguously. He let go "And how's my grandson?"

"Fine" said Gabriel "He can smile"

"What a sweetie" said Angelo "When can I see him again?"

"I've told you. I don't want my son being around a perv" Gabriel glared down his nose at Angelo, which was a difficult task considering that Angelo was taller than him "Neither do I, in fact. Why have you invited us here?"

"I needed to speak to you both. I wanted to see you. Why don't you come into the kitchen? I've made us dinner"

"Dinner?" asked Gabriel, perplexed.

"I've already eaten with Tibby" replied Rosaline.

"What's brought all this on?" asked Gabriel.

"I just thought I'd spend a bit of time with you both" replied Angelo. They turned around the corner and saw that the kitchen table was laden with food. There was salad for Gabriel, and chicken for Angelo and Rosaline. There was thick crusty bread, with butter spread neatly over the crumbly surface. Breadsticks poked out of a tall glass, and a ball of mozzarella cheese sat in the middle, along with olives and other little nibbles.

"Wow" stated Gabriel "Are we having a picnic?"

"Well, I just thought..." trailed off Angelo.

"You've gone a bit overboard!" Rosaline raised her eyebrows "Neither I or Gabriel are big eaters"

"I am" said Angelo. Well, in truth, he had been. These days, he played with his food, and pretended to eat it.

"So how have you managed to lose so much weight?" asked Gabriel rudely.

"Exercise" said Angelo, pulling out a chair and sitting down. Rosaline and Gabriel followed suit.

"It must have been more. I exercise everyday and I haven't lost much weight in ages. You've got to tell me your secret – Rene hates it when the dancers gain weight. Hey, guess what I did to stitch up the corps? This group of guys had been getting really rude and cocky, so I started leaving doughnuts in their dressing room. They, of course, scoffed the lot. At the weigh in, they'd all put on at least three pounds! Hahaha!"

"Gabriel" scolded Angelo.

Rosaline shock her head, but giggled "I pulled a similar trick myself once. Only it had to stop because back then I couldn't afford all the doughnuts"

"Oh, and who's fault was that?" Gabriel glared at Angelo.

"Don't start, Gabe" sighed Angelo.

"Don't call me Gabe!"

"I'll call you what I like! Brat!"

"And who made the brat, hmm? Oh, I know! You did!"

"Pack it in!" snapped Rosaline.

"Brat!"

"Twat!"

"Brat!"

"Twat!"

"Stop it!" yelled Rosaline.

"So why have you called us here, Angelo?" demanded Gabriel "What did you want to see us so desperately for? Why's there all this food? And why did you faint the other day? Come on, I want the truth!"

"I've got cancer!" roared Angelo.


	20. Cancer

RichardIII1955 - Now you will! And yes, Richard will be back for his girl!

Well, that was a spanner in the works? Did anyone guess what was wrong with him before?

* * *

It was as though time had frozen.

"What?" shrieked Gabriel. Rosaline was certain her jaw had hit the floor. Angelo shook, whether it was from rage, or nerves, or grief, Rosaline could not tell.

"Cancer?" repeated Gabriel "Cancer?"

"Yes, cancer!" snapped Angelo "I said it loudly enough"

"Where? What type?"

"It's in my...it's...well, it's prostate cancer"

"Prostate cancer!" repeated Gabriel. Then, of all things that he had to do, he giggled. He actually _giggled_ "So you're saying they put a finger up your-"

"Shut up Gabriel!" Angelo yelled, going red.

"I'm sorry, I just-" Gabriel giggled hysterically "Did they put a camera up there as well? Did they take_ pictures_?"

Angelo leapt forwards and slapped him. Gabriel screeched and fell backwards, and Rosaline caught him. He felt almost as light as Hermia. He wasn't much taller than her, really, or much wider. Angelo himself sank into a chair and began to sob. Rosaline wasn't sure what to do. Gabriel picked himself up, and grabbed a glass of wine, chugging it down like it was the elixir of life itself.

"How long have you known?" asked Gabriel.

"A few weeks" Angelo continued to sob "I'm starting radiotherapy in a couple of days. I've been so...so...so scared, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I could barely even think! And I've been so alone, and that goddamn woman-"

"What goddamn woman?" asked Gabriel.

"That...that Amparo" spat Angelo, raising his head "has been tormenting me and stealing my job!"

"No, she has not!" cried Gabriel, outraged "Don't talk about her like that! She has been filling in for you because you've been having petty little 'Oh, I'm so tired and stressed!' tantrums, and doing your job better than you ever could"

"I have not been having tantrums!" Angelo roared "_You're_ the one who has tantrums!"

"Shut up, both of you!" insisted Rosaline. There were tears in her eyes. Both Gabriel and Angelo swallowed, and sat down. She blinked furiously.

Angelo wiped his eyes furiously "Look, kids, I'd rather you didn't mention this to anyone yet. I haven't told anyone, not Iago, not work, and I'm not ready to go public"

"Everyone saw you faint live on telly, they're going to want some sort of explanation" retorted Gabriel.

"Yes, I know. Juno told me to expect as much. But not yet" Angelo closed his eyes.

"When did all this start?" asked Gabriel "How long has it been there?"

"It started a little while ago" Angelo blushed "I kept getting up in the night to go to the loo"

"But that's what old people do!"

"Exactly. I'm not old!"

"But you're forty seven!"

"I know, but it's not _that_ old. I first I thought that I must be getting on a bit, but then it got worse. I was getting up three or four times a night, and during the day, I kept needing to go. I had to break up a meeting to rush to the toilet"

"I remember, Amparo told me"

Angelo sighed, and ran a hand through his dark hair. For the first time, Rosaline noticed it was streaked with grey. Usually Angelo looked young and healthy for his age. He concealed his wrinkles by having botox injections every now and then, and by dying his grey hairs.

"It was horrible. However much I went, I never felt like I'd completely finished"

"Yuck" Gabriel grimaced.

"You asked" retorted Angelo.

"How advanced is it?" asked Gabriel. Rosaline realised that some sort of calm was taking over her half-brother, and was glad for it. She wasn't going to be able to hold it together much longer...

"It hasn't spread any further than my..." Angelo gulped "You know where"

"What stage?"

"Stage Two. It's...quite large. Which is why I have to keep...going to toilet, because it presses on my bladder. Thankfully they've caught it before it spread any further. My survival rates are good"

"So why are you panicking?" asked Gabriel.

"Because I'm so young!" Angelo snapped, slamming his fist on the table "Prostate cancer is usually a slow growing cancer that usually affects old men and doesn't affect their natural lifespan. By then there's no point doing anything. You can die _with_ cancer, but not _because of_ cancer. And if you're not like, eighty, then there's watchful waiting, which is where treatment is delayed because the side effects of the treatment ruin the quality of life more than the cancer does. But I'm forty seven. Most men don't get diagnosed with it until they're well over fifty. And as it's this far along, in a man this young, what if it is an aggressive tumour, that grows quickly...what if this is the end? Or worse, what if this is just the start of thirty years of painful and humiliating treatment, constant paranoia, and being robbed of the chance to do all the things I had hoped to do?"

"So what are you going to do?"

"Get it treated, what did you think?"

"Well, I was just thinking..." said Gabriel "I'm sure I have a friend, Lucius, who knows a good homeopath. If you followed a vegan diet, then perhaps you could reverse the effects of the cancer"

"Are you stupid?" seethed Angelo "Becoming a vegan won't cure cancer!"

"Yes it can! You guzzle all that red meat and smoke all those cigarettes, no wonder this has happened. You need to get yourself healthy, Angelo, and detox yourself of all those nasty chemicals"

"For Christ's sake..." groaned Angelo.

"Well, what kind of treatment are you going to have?" asked Gabriel.

Angelo sighed "They offered to remove the prostate, but it's a horrible painful surgical procedure, and the side effects are awful. I mean, urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction? I'm not an old man. I want my dignity. And I still have needs. You know what I mean"

"So what are you going to do?" asked Gabriel.

"I'm having radiotherapy" Angelo sighed again "The side effects are similar, but they're more likely to go away within time, and at least it's not an invasive surgery. I'll also be having hormone therapy. Hormone therapy will stop my body producing testosterone, which is what causes the cancer to grow, so that the radiotherapy can kill it. And those side effects are pretty crappy too. I'm going to have hot flushes, sweating, weight gain and man boobs. Oh, and a high pitched voice. For the first time, we'll resemble each other"

"I don't have man boobs!" shrieked Gabriel with his high pitched voice.

"I meant your voice! You sound like Michael Jackson with an Italian accent!"

"I do not!" Gabriel shrieked again, but then he suddenly began to giggle "Michael Jackson with an Italian accent? He had a beautiful voice and he was such a talented dancer. Shall I take it as a compliment?"

"Whatever you want" Angelo rolled his eyes.

"But are you going to be ok?" asked Gabriel.

"I have a ninety percent chance of surviving for another five years" said Angelo "They've caught the cancer just in time. If it has spread, then I...well, the odds are much worse, and since I'm still young, the quality of my remaining life, supposing I survived, would be horrible and undignified"

"Oh, and as if being asked to turn your head and cough is!" giggled Gabriel. Angelo finally snorted with laughter. He patted his knee, like he would have done when Gabriel was little. Gabriel perched on his knee and Angelo hugged him.

"I used to hug you like this when you were little. You were such a sweet kid. What happened, Gabriel?"

"You turned evil"

"I did not"

"Are you going to say I turned into a brat?"

"Something along those lines"

"Hey, Rosaline, get a picture. I have a feeling this isn't going to – Rosaline?" Gabriel sat up, looking around the room.

"Rosaline, sweetie?" asked Angelo, looking up as well for his favourite child. But Rosaline was gone.

* * *

She ran so hard and sobbed so hard that she was soon gasping for breath. Eventually, she stumbled along and crouched down under an oak tree. Rosaline sobbed and sobbed, her beautiful golden hair in a tangled disarray, falling down around her. Maybe there were leaves and twigs tangled in there too, but now she did not care.

Angelo was her father. He was her rock. To her, he seemed invincible. And she'd only known him for four years. After all those years of longing for a father, finally meeting him, now he was going to be snatched away by this evil greedy gobbling cancer?

When Angelo had begun to talk about his...bits, that was when Rosaline couldn't bear it any longer. She's always been squeamish, and the thought that her father had had to go through that all was unbearable. And Gabriel had just giggled. He would never be able to support Angelo, and neither would Rosaline. The thought of what he had gone through made her sick, and she wanted no part in it. She didn't want to hold his head as he puked from the drugs they would pump him with, or see him lying grey and bald in a bleak hospital bed. This wasn't how it was supposed to go! Everything was so perfect now! She'd earned enough money to start reclaiming many of the Oftmoro possessions, and she was doing so well at university, and then Angelo had to get branded a pervert by those sneaky Montagues and now he had to get sick.

No. She couldn't cope.

Rosaline wept, clutching onto the tree. Her fingers scrabbled, as she tried to stay upright. Eventually, they brushed across some carvings. Rosaline ceased crying for a moment, to look. They were two initials. One was M, and the other was A. They were both enclosed in a heart. They looked quite old, as if they had been there for sometime. Who they were, Rosaline could not tell.

Right now, all she wanted was Tibby. There was no point loitering around Angelo's land. She needed to head back to Capulet Manor, where he would be waiting with a warm embrace and a hot cup of coffee. After that, they would go back to Milan, where Rosaline would begin her final year at university. Then, she would work for a big business, and she would invest her money again, and she would use the money to reclaim Oftmoro Retreat.

* * *

"Rosaline?" called Angelo, running through the halls of his house "Rosaline?"

He reached the front door. It had blown open from where it hadn't been closed properly.

"She's gone!" cried Angelo.

"Of course she's gone. You know how she hates talk about willies and bums and prostates, of course" replied Gabriel, following Angelo out into the hall. He shut the door as rain had begun to fall. The long heat wave that Verona usually experienced during the summer had broken, and now it rained. There was even a clap of thunder.

"She'll be soaked" said Angelo.

"I know. But she'll come back. Come away from there now. You don't need to catch a chill right now. You need to build your strength up, if you insist on having this poisonous radiotherapy, rather than my dietary advice"

"I had hoped Rosaline would stay" murmured Angelo, letting Gabriel lead him back into the front room. Gabriel ignored him, only knowing too well what Angelo had really meant. _'I wanted her to stay with me, not you'_

"Well, she hasn't" said Gabriel, trying to keep the snap out of his voice. He had to stay calm now. He was just as squeamish as Rosaline, but someone had to stay strong for Angelo.

_'But why are you bothering?' _a voice asked him at the back of his mind _'Isn't this what you wanted? To see him weak and vulnerable? To laugh at him as he lost his power, his job, his friends? Isn't this cancer just the icing on the cake? Isn't this the threefold of his unkind behaviour? Isn't this what you _wanted_?'_

Gabriel shook.

_'No. I thought I wanted this, but I don't. Cancer isn't funny. Setting a firework off up the chimney when I was thirteen, that was funny. But laughing at him because he's sick? That's not funny!'_

But then, Gabriel remembered the plan they had made. He and Amparo. A few nights after Alexei had been born. They had decided to get Angelo out of power so that Amparo could be Deputy instead. Gabriel had approved of the plan at the time, as he resented how Angelo loved his job more than he had ever loved him. He'd told her a list of scandalous gossip that could easily be used to get Angelo out of power.

Amparo had used it; she had used it all, in fact.

But mostly what was causing Angelo's unpopularity...was due to Isabella Montague's accusation.

And hadn't he been seeing Amparo and Isabella together a lot over the summer? Previously, they hadn't been together _that_ much, due to Amparo's firm liberal beliefs and Isabella's conservative ones. Why would they be together so much when an election was coming up, which was to determine the next step in Verona's future?

And why had he come home one day and seen Amparo with Isabella, and her sister Elvira, who was a journalist? A science journalist, none the less, but a journalist all the same, who would doubtless know someone who was part of the paparazzi.

Something was slowly beginning to dawn on Gabriel.

"Angelo" he said firmly. Angelo glanced up at him with dark eyes "Will you tell me...your side of the story? About what happened with Isabella Montague?"

"Of course. Sit down. You know I will"

"No, wait" Gabriel shook his head "Tell me the whole story. Tell me about Mariana. Tell me about your politics. Tell me everything"


	21. Angelo's Tale

RichardIII1955 - Here is Angelo's long-awaited side of the story!

So, Gabriel has demanded an explanation from Angelo. Can they ever patch things up?

* * *

Angelo took a deep breath "Yes, Gabriel. I'll have to go far back. Very far back. When I was a couple of years younger than you"

Gabriel settled down on the opposite sofa, and curled his legs under him. They sat like they used to when they had still lived together, and ate dinner off trays after a hard day at work and ballet class. Angelo began.

"I've always enjoyed politics. I will hold my hands up to that. I enjoy being charismatic, winning people over to my side, going to new places and meeting people, and trying to make a difference. You might laugh, and say I haven't made much of a difference at all, but hear me out.

When I was sixteen, I had been dating for several years. I liked women, I liked flirting, I liked dating, I liked going out. And yes, I might as well be blunt. I like sex – no, don't giggle! How old are you now? Honestly, Gabriel. Well. I liked women, that was it. I'd never really thought about, well, men, before. I mean, there were times when I had looked at my friends and thought they were handsome, but that was it. I believed my...my attraction, to them, was platonic.

One summer, after I had finished my O Levels – we didn't have GCSEs back then – I went out for a ride on my horse. Yes, I know I don't like riding much, but my parents loved being oh so middle class and having a stable in the garden. I was mooching along some woods, when I encountered a boy. And he was the most beautiful boy I had ever seen. He had golden blond hair, like a field of corn dappling in the sunlight. Tanned golden brown skin. Two golden brown eyes. He took my breath away, although at the time, I couldn't think why. We started to talk, and he told me his name. Michael. I didn't have anything to do that summer. I had a long summer up ahead of me. I had to fill it with something. He had just moved into the area, and so I was grateful for the company. We spent a lot of the time together. We got on well. We got on...very well.

He started at my school the next September. I was studying English Literature, Government and Politics, and History. Michael wasn't in any of my lessons, but I would see him playing cricket out on the field. He was good at it. I would watch him and my heart would leap, and I wouldn't know why.

We had grown close over the autumn months. We'd sleep round each other's houses, and then one night, when his sister was having a sleepover with one of her friends, there wasn't a spare campbed or a sleeping bag, so we slept in the same bed. I thought it would feel weird, but it felt right. On my birthday in November, Michael hugged me when he gave me a present. Then, at Christmas, Michael caught me by surprise. I gave him a present, and then he kissed me. I swear, Gabriel, it was like being awoken. All these feelings that I had never understood before suddenly made sense. I liked men, and I loved Michael! But I wasn't gay. I didn't identify with all the cross-dressing and parading around in pink. I know that's a stereotype, but even so. Even now, I still don't really identity with the gay community. I still liked women. That confused me for a while, until Michael explained to me you could like both. He didn't. He just liked men. He just liked me.

It took me a little while to come to terms with my feelings. I, well, I knew what I was, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to accept it, or if I was ready to love Michael. Well, I knew I loved him, I wasn't sure if I was ready to accept it. But, by New Year's Eve, I knew. I kissed him this time, and then it was official. We were in love. We were an item.

But, our parents were homophobes. My father died when you were young, but you met my mother. You remember that she had a deep husky voice, from where she smoked so many cigarettes? Do you remember how she once slapped you on the back of your legs for breaking an ornament in her living room? Neither of them approved of same-sex couples. I had to remain hidden if I wanted to love Michael. I had to hide who I was. God, I hated it! I wanted to bring him home, and show him off like I had with my previous girlfriends. I wanted to kiss him in the street and hold his hand. It was horrible.

But by the next summer, my older brother Iago caught me. I wasn't close enough with him to beg him to keep the secret and be my confidante, nor was he close enough with me to keep my secret and spare me from my parents' rage and shame. Michael and I decided the only thing to do would be to runaway. So we did.

They caught us. They hauled us home. So we ran away again. This time, when they caught us, we were ready. We had the pills. If they couldn't let us be together in life, then we would be together in death. We weren't afraid. We took the pills, and passed out.

When I woke up, I was in hospital. My mother stood over me. My father was at home. She told me Michael was dead. I cried, and she left me. I cried and cried, and grieved and grieved. I begged them to discharge me, to let me go to the funeral, but they wouldn't. They wouldn't even tell me where his grave was so I could pay my respects. When I did leave hospital, I looked through every gravesite, at every name plate, to try and find him. I never did. But before I even did that, I had to go home and face my father. He took one look at me, and slapped me across the face.

I left home within a couple of months. I was seventeen. I had a job. I finished my A Levels and went to university. I got involved with politics. I didn't ever join any gay communities. I wasn't proud of who I was, and I didn't want anyone to ever know.

But that didn't mean I'd turned my back on who I was. I'm mainly interested in women, but from time to time, I still meet men. I also made a vow, that one day, when I was a politician, that I would make things better for same-sex couples. I would stop discrimination. I would give them places to run to if their parents kicked them out or they had to leave. I know I haven't done so, but please, hear me out.

I became a politician. Along the way, I got married, had Rosaline, had an affair because I couldn't feel the same about Camilla that I felt about Michael, got divorced, got married again, had you. Tried to raise you. Tried to give you a normal childhood. Tried to make sure you were normal and no one ever bullied you, or called you a fag or called you a sissy.

Your mother, of course, decided to let you dress up in her clothes. She let you start ballet. Look, at first, I admit I didn't think it was so bad. I thought it was funny. I thought you were sweet, when you'd come downstairs in lipstick and heels and shout "Get out of the way! I'm a VIP, you bitch!"

As you got older, I got more worried. I didn't want your classmates laughing at you. I just wanted you to be normal. That's why I don't, I mean, didn't, like you doing ballet. I didn't want you to be like me, a dirty freak of nature. No, don't interrupt. I know I'm going to hell. God hates fags. My parents told me that enough. I passed my freak gene onto you. Thank God Rosaline and Livia are ok. Maybe Alexei will be ok. But if not, I won't judge him or try and make him normal. I'll love him anyway, like I should have done with you.

Time went by. I became the leader of my party. I won a landslide election. All would seem ripe, don't you think?

But once again, I had to make sacrifices. There were always rumours...about my preferences. I had to put them down. I had to look suitable for liberal voters, and conservative voters, if I wanted to win.

My parties' policies were liberal, that was easy. We got the liberal vote easy enough. But the conservative vote? That was going to be difficult. I was twice divorced, which never looks good in their eyes. I was a single father, and you were already shaping up to be a maniac. Well, all right, you weren't as bad as Mercutio, but there you go.

I met a woman, Mariana. She liked me, much more than I liked her. She wanted to do the whole marriage and kids thing. I had enough kids. I didn't want anymore. I'd already had my heart broken by Camilla stealing my girls away, and having to keep my distance to shield poor Rosaline and Livia from the paparazzi, who were driving me mad. But I knew that by marrying Mariana, by giving you a mother, well, a step-mother, that I made myself look more...suitable. More...stable.

We became engaged. It was kept very quiet. I was still working to win the election. You, of course, did not like her. You played so many pranks I lost count. The firework up the chimney was the final straw. Once the election was won, we quietly ended the engagement. It was coincidental that her brother's business went bust about the same time. She wanted someone who wanted children, and I wanted someone who...I just wanted Michael. After all this time.

So I was Deputy. Was I ready to change the laws? Yes. Was I ready to change attitudes. No. How can you change a person's attitude? No, scrap that. How can you can society's attitude?

I had relied on a large portion of conservatives for my support. If I were to press through laws immediately, I'd lose that support. You know that in order to win a majority in parliament, you need to get well over half of the votes to get over half of the seats. Although I had a large majority, my hold on power was precarious. Suppose I lost the conservative support, I would approximately a quarter of voters, which would mean I would lose up to a quarter of my party's seats, and therefore, leaving me without a majority.

As my hold on power was so precarious, I couldn't risk it. Suppose I passed through half a dozen laws, then lost my support from the typically conservative voters, lost the next election, and risked having those laws undone by the next conservative government? And all the while I passed through such laws, I would be under scrutiny. In order to criticise my decisions, people and journalists would drag my personal life through the mud, interrogate every girlfriend, boyfriend, and dish all the dirt they could find on me.

I'd already been rejected and discriminated against by my own parents. I just couldn't go through with it again, not in the public eye with everyone judging me. I couldn't bear it. I thought could...but I couldn't. I hate being like this. I wish I was normal.

That's why I couldn't pass through any rights for same-sex rights. That is why I am, in your opinion, as weak as a nun's piss.

But all the while I have been in power, this is what I have done. I have made several liberal reforms to the healthcare and educational system. They're small, but they're a step in the right direction, and they have made a difference to people's lives. As well as that, I've intervened and stopped conservatives taking away women's reproductive rights, and stopped them from discriminating against them any further. And yes, the economy is rubbish, but this is a global recession. There is global economic decline. Verona is one tiny city, in one country, in one continent. How could my actions heal the economy? We'd need a worldwide change to do that. As for same-sex rights, as with women's rights, I've held off any attempts by conservatives to discriminate against them. Quietly, I have donated money to charities so that I could make some sort of difference. And I have watched and encouraged changing attitudes. More Veronese citizens have said they support same-sex marriages or civil partnerships than they had five years ago. Now is the time to begin action.

But now I am about to be voted out. And here's the madness. In my place, they want to put the Verona Republicans, who will never, ever, give LGBT people their rights. Not only that, but they will take away our health service, strip away women's reproductive rights, strip away the benefits system, get rid of funding for schools, get rid of funding for the creative and cultural sector, which means art, museums, and ballet. Yes, Gabriel, that means you. You'll be out of a job. And so will your sister. Verona thrives on tourism, and tourism thrives on culture. Rosaline has invested her savings in several cultural businesses, and so she'll lose them. Two of my children will be out of job.

So, this brings me back onto Isabella, and what's been happening for the past few months. Well, you know, I am ill. I have cancer. I have been worrying and worrying and having time off for biopsies and nasty physical examinations and many other medical forms of torture. I haven't been eating and I haven't been sleeping, so I've had to have time off because I've been unable to work. Amparo has been filling in.

All I can guess, is that she wants me out. She wants my job, and she's trying to set me up or make look bad so I'm forced to resign and she takes my place. It's a risky game, as to make me look bad, makes the party look bad, which makes us as a whole, unelectable. I know you love her, but hear me out.

The afternoon when I first when to the doctors was the afternoon that Isabella accused me of sexually harassing her. Gabriel, I am innocent. I did not harass her. She's not my type – she's a brunette and I prefer blondes. I was working all morning, and then she came in to use the photocopier before I left.

I admit to being a flirt. I admit to sometimes flirting with some of the women who work with me. But if they didn't like it, or asked me to stop, I would. I can read their body language that says they don't like it, and I will back off. I've been dating for years, and I know that no means no. I'm not Demetrius.

She spoke to me briefly. Small talk. We spoke about you, in fact. And Alexei. And that was it. I did not ask her to have sex with me, I did not try and manipulate her into having sex with me or anything like that. After that, I had to leave, to go to the doctors. She stayed behind in my office. We were alone together for no more than ten minutes. That is not enough time to sexually harass someone. And to be honest, at the time, sex was the last thing on my mind. And due to my treatment, which will begin soon, I don't think I'll want to have sex for the foreseeable future. I stepped out, and then that stupid idiot Mercutio yelled boo at me. He'd been listening at the door behind a plant pot. He'd been causing chaos the whole morning, in fact. He'd yelled boo at Lord Capulet as well, and Amparo had some papers go missing. He'd heard everything. In fact, if you don't belief my story, then ask Mercutio. If he's not too busy doing his goddamn flappy dappy dance"

Gabriel was speechless. Angelo slumped backwards onto the cushions. A few tears leaked down his cheeks. Gabriel suddenly found his eyes watering.

"Don't ever say that again!" he cried "You're no freak! You're bisexual! And that's not a crime!"

"Yes, I am!" Angelo wailed, as though he was a frightened little teenage boy again "I'm disgusting!"

"No, you're not!" roared Gabriel, leaping up and shaking him "Your parents told you a load of bullshit. You should be proud of who you are!"

"Why should I be proud? I'm nothing. This is my punishment. I have cancer because I'm a sinner. Not because I eat red meat and smoke cigarettes. My dad told me this would happen"

"He lied" snarled Gabriel "People don't get cancer because they've had a bit of harmless bum fun. People get cancer because their cells mutate and grow into tumours, which have unknown causes, although there are links with smoking and diet. That has nothing to do with it. You will beat this cancer, and you will love yourself again. That is an order from the brat. Did you hear me?"

Angelo nodded meekly "Yes, Gabriel"

"And you don't have a freak gene. I might be a ballet dancer, but I'm not gay. I like ballet because I like being athletic and being able to express myself in an artistic manner at the same time. I like the feel of holding a girl in my arms and twirling her around. And if Alexei's gay, bi, a tranny, then I don't care. It's not either of our faults. He's beautiful. We will love him regardless"

"I know. I already do. When can I see him again?"

"Whenever you want"

"So...you...do you forgive me?"

"What you said certainly explains a lot" Gabriel nodded. He sat down gently at Angelo's feet and laid his blond head upon Angelo's knee. Angelo stroked the platinum blond strands as he used to when Gabriel was a child, whilst the storm raged outside.

"I hope Rosaline is all right" said Angelo "Rosaline knows most of what I said, apart from about Michael. I know how Tybalt feels about gay people. I told her in more detail about what happened with her mother. Ah, Gabe. Why am I such a failure?"

"Call me Gabe again and I'll call you much worse than a failure"

Angelo gave a half-sigh, half-chuckle, and gently closed his eyes. Gabriel looked up at him. Angelo's fingers were still entwined with his hair. How long had it been since he'd shared such a loving embrace with one of his parents? It felt so nice. If, after a day of taunting at school, he'd come home to this kind of affection, Gabriel knew he'd have been a very different person, with a very different outlook on life...

But gosh, he did look sick. There were purple bags under his eyes, and his face was deathly pale. Gone was the handsome man who had once tossed him in the air and carried him on his shoulders. This was what Isabella's accusation had done to him.

Was this really what he wanted? Gabriel found himself beginning to doubt Isabella. She had no love for him, and had a reason to want Angelo out of politics. But then, why would she back Amparo? Why would they come together? Amparo supported the same policies as Angelo, which Isabella opposed. That mystified Gabriel. But unless...

Unless Amparo was planning to dupe her friend.

The puzzle was starting to come together!

Gabriel's heart began to beat. Once Angelo was out of the way, and Amparo was Deputy, and the election was won, then Amparo didn't need Isabella or the support of the Montague family anymore. She could be Deputy for the next five or six years, without any trouble from Isabella. They weren't even that close friends. They had come together because of this 'deal,' which Gabriel supposed it was. Amparo had probably told Isabella that if she went through with this, made a false accusation against Angelo, then she would hold off all of Angelo's impending liberal reforms. But once she was Deputy, she would pass them through anyway. There would be nothing Isabella or her conservative family could do, because that would mean owning up to their lie.

But why? Why would anyone do that?

Gabriel could only guess why Isabella had joined in with this. He knew the Montagues bore no love for him. He knew it was because he'd stolen Benvolio's girlfriend. But that had been years ago, and he'd said sorry. If anything, he'd done poor Benny a favour. Rose was a weakling, and Hermia was a much more interesting and independent young lady.

But it couldn't have been a slight against him, as Amparo loved him and would never hurt him, and any slights against Angelo, both she and the Montagues knew that Gabriel would take pleasure in, since Gabriel and Angelo openly disliked one another. And Amparo had approached him, and asked him if he wanted to do it, to bring Angelo down. And Gabriel had said yes.

But he hadn't meant it like this! Just one look at Angelo was enough to make anyone feel bad.

So what about Rosaline? Were the Montagues doing this as a slight against her? Angelo was Rosaline's father as much as his, and the Montagues had more to gain by using Angelo to upset her. She'd married a Capulet – the meanest, bad-tempered, bullying Capulet, and she was pretty bitchy to the Montagues in her own right. But the feud was finished now, and both Tybalt, Rosaline, and the Montagues held a level of respect for each other now. So why the false accusation?

The more he thought, the less reason he found. Why would anyone tell such a horrible lie? There were so many evil perpetrators of sexual violence out there, why accuse an innocent man? That would leave one reason to accuse Angelo, and Gabriel did not like it at all. He'd told Amparo enough gossip to get Angelo out of power on her own, and it appeared she had taken things much further. Her only reason to do this would be to grab power for herself.

That was, of course, if Gabriel believed Angelo's side of the story. And, if, to a certain extent, his guesses were correct.

It left him with one last option.

Find Mercutio. And interrogate him.


	22. Reluctant Witness

RichardIII1955 - Gabriel won't hurt him! He's a wimp! But you're right, poor Angelo!

So there's Angelo's big secret. He's bi and he hates it! Will Gabe help him come to terms with himself? And will Gabe be able to clear his name? Let's see if our reluctant witness Wooshy-wo will step forwards...

* * *

"Hey, Edouard!" sang Mercutio down the phone "How do you like my singing?"

"I don't want to hear it! I'm fighting a battle tomorrow, stop prank-calling me!"

"IF YOU WANNA BE MY LOVER, YOU'VE GOT TO UNDERSTAND. MY TITS ARE MADE OF RUBBER, I USED TO BE A MAN!" Mercutio cooed.

"Shut up!" roared Edouard.

"Mercutio!" thundered Escalus, storming into the room "Put the phone down!"

"It's only Edouard, Uncle Es!"

"_Prince_ Edouard!" screamed Edouard.

"What was that? Hobo Edouard? Hobo Edouard is on the phone, Uncle Es!"

"Stop it now!" Escalus yanked the phone away from Mercutio. Mercutio jutted his lip out and pouted.

"That wasn't very nice, Uncle Es!"

"I've had enough of your silly behaviour" Escalus scolded.

"But you don't like Edouard either, Uncle Es!"

"No, I don't. But that doesn't mean I approve of prank-calling, it's a form of harassment, and harassment is not funny!"

"Yeah, it is"

"No, it isn't" said Gabriel firmly, standing in the doorway. Water dripped down his clothes and off his hair.

"It's Gabe the Babe!" exclaimed Mercutio "Why aren't you shaking yo' thang at the ballet theatre?"

"It's my night off" explained Gabriel "I have come to talk to you"

"About what?" asked Mercutio.

"You were outside my father's office the day that Isabella Montague accused him of sexually harassing her, and I would like to know the truth. What happened?"

Mercutio shrugged "How should I know?"

"You were outside" said Gabriel "What did you hear?"

"A kangaroo singing karaoke"

Gabriel sighed "Could you just, you know, not be insane right now? Could you tell me the truth? Verona's next election depends upon it"

"Urgh, yuck, elections, boring!" sang Mercutio.

"Mercutio?" frowned Escalus "Did you hear what Isabella and Angelo said?"

"Probably. But how on earth am I meant to remember something that happened three months ago?"

Gabriel groaned and hit his head against the wall. Then he turned back to Mercutio.

"Right. I will let you come backstage before my next dance performance. You may dress up in any outfit or costume that pleases you. Then, you may come onstage during the middle of the show and perform your flappy dappy dance, steal my limelight, piss off Rene and Silvio, and annoy all our patrons. How does that sound?"

"Oh, boy!"

"Mercutio! Gabriel! You can't be serious!" spluttered Escalus.

"I want to do the flappy dappy dance!" shrieked Mercutio.

"Well. Tell me what Isabella and Angelo were doing in Angelo's office, the day she accused him of sexually harassing her" said Gabriel.

"They were being boring and talking about boring things" replied Mercutio.

"Like what?"

"Boring government things. Oh, and you"

"Me?"

"Yes, and Alexei"

"Did you hear him hit on her?"

Mercutio suddenly stopped and chewed his lip. Most people thought he was simple. Simple, but insane. In truth, he was neither. Well, he was quite arguably insane, but he wasn't stupid. Isabella was Romeo and Benvolio's aunt. They were his best friends, and the Montagues were really his second family. If he told Gabriel that he hadn't heard Angelo hit on her at all, then it could cost him his friendship with them. All of them, in fact. Well, Benvolio might listen and understand, as was his nature, but Romeo was much more impulsive and less mature.

"I didn't hear Angelo hit on her" replied Mercutio "But I did hear him tell her he was wearing one of your thongs"

He giggled.

No one laughed.

And that was unusual.

Escalus glared at him. Gabriel glared at him. Mercutio suddenly felt very stupid.

"Anyway, I must be off" he beamed "I have to tell Micro a bedtime story"

"What a complete clown" remarked Gabriel, after Mercutio skipped out the room.

"He's loyal to the Montagues, you know" said Escalus.

"But he isn't one" Gabriel dismissed.

"They practically brought him up, however. Whilst my sister endured her messy divorce, and my brother was too preoccupied with his own affairs, and whilst I tried to rule"

There was a hint of bitterness in Escalus' tone.

"Then what do you suggest I do?" Gabriel snapped "Who will give me the truth now? Who should I believe? Angelo...or Amparo?"

"I am as lost in the matter as you are, Gabriel" Escalus rubbed his brow. There was a red ring on his forehead from where his crown perched during formal affairs "I wish I knew the truth of Angelo's nature so that I could support him guiltlessly. My overall duty is to the realm"

"Well in that case, take my advice"

"What advice?"

"Legalise weed. I want to get hammered"

* * *

Gabriel left the palace, drawing up his silk scarf to cover his hair against the rain. It did little, but it was better than becoming soaked again. By now, it was growing late, and Gabriel supposed he ought to return to Alexei. It was not often that he had a night off to spend with his son, and he ought to be grateful for it.

Luckily his car was only a few feet away, and he dived into it, relieved. The engine purred into life, and Mercutio watched him zoom away.

Both Allegra and Micro were asleep. Micro was cuddled up on her chest, and Allegra clutched him tightly. Mercutio only had to look at them to be reminded how much he loved them.

Not wanting to disturb her, he slipped out their bedroom and paced down the halls. Valentine was in his room, working on some project or another. Paris was probably getting loved up with his new wife. Mercutio was half-tempted to go and jump on them both, but decided against it. Paris would only get mad at him, and his mum and Uncle Es would just yell at him.

In truth, Mercutio was stuck.

As a matter of fact, he _hadn't_ heard Angelo harassing Isabella. He knew Angelo was innocent.

But the Montagues were his second family. He couldn't betray them.

But he couldn't stand back and watch Angelo be blamed for something he didn't do. Mercutio was crazy, bonkers, insane, a madman, but he wasn't stupid. He knew the injustice of seeing Demetrius walk free, whilst Hermia suffered, whilst many innocent men were condemned, their lives and reputations ruined.

And he couldn't talk to anyone about it. He didn't want Allegra to share the burden, or have to see him in this turmoil. He never admitted it to himself, but Mercutio was proud, and disliked being viewed as vulnerable. He couldn't tell his mother or Uncle Es, because they'd just make him tell the truth, regardless of the consequences for his friendships. And if he told his two best friends, Romeo and Benvolio, then Romeo would get mad at him for dropping his aunt in trouble, and Benvolio would be horrified at the thought of a confrontation.

That left one person.

Hermia.

She always put bros before hoes. She might have a big mouth, but she never blabbed anyone's secrets. She hated Rosaline and wasn't especially fond of Gabriel, and so she probably wouldn't care what happened to Angelo.

Mercutio tucked the blanket over Allegra and kissed her blonde head. She smiled in her sleep. It seemed Queen Mab had blessed her with a sweet dream tonight. He grabbed his car keys and he was off, out into the night.

* * *

"Where the bloody hell have you been?" asked Tybalt, as Rosaline stormed in, wet and cold.

"Oh, Tibby" snivelled Rosaline, crumpling against him. Tybalt wrapped his arms around her.

"You're wet"

Rosaline pulled away "Really? I thought I was dry" but then she sobbed again and hugged him.

"What's the matter?" Tybalt stroked her damp golden locks.

"Angelo...it's Angelo..."

"Is he being a prick?"

"No. He's..." Rosaline hiccupped.

"What is it?"

The door hammered. Tybalt cursed, and let go of Rosaline. He opened the door.

"Hi, sexy!"

"Go away, Mercutio!"

Mercutio barged in "Where's Hermy-wa?"

"In bed. Why do you ask?"

"I want to see her"

"Well, you can't. She's in bed. With Benvolio. They might be...occupied with one another" said Tybalt.

"I'm sure I can join in!" Mercutio giggled and skipped across the hall and headed up the Capulets' stairs. They heard him run and throw open the door.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

"GET OUT!"

"Oops, sorry, Benny!" Mercutio came downstairs giggling.

"Freak" spat Tybalt. He shook his head, and then took Rosaline's hand to lead her up to bed. She needed to get out of those wet things, or she'd catch a chill. Hermia came out, tying her dressing gown around herself and smoothing down her rumpled hair. Mercutio sat on the sofa, and sniggered. Tybalt glared at him so Mercutio stuck his tongue out at him.

"What the bloody hell are you playing at, Merc?" demanded Hermia.

"I need to talk to you!"

"About what? And can't it wait?"

"No!"

"Well, what is it then?"

"I need your advice" Mercutio drummed his fingers against the armrest.

"About what?"

"So you know Angelo?"

"Yes, I know Angelo"

"You know how Isabella Montague said he sexually harassed her?"

"Yes?"

"Well," Mercutio chewed his lip "He didn't do it. And I know this, because I was outside"

"So why don't you say?"

"Because otherwise all the Montagues will turn against me! They're my friends! My best friends!"

"Well" stated Hermia "You're in a tricky position"

Mercutio nodded miserably, before words tumbled out in a passionate fury "I hate politics and back-stabbing, it's so unfair! Innocent people get wrapped up in it who don't want to be!"

"Me too" agreed Hermia "But look, like you say, Angelo's innocent. I know how much you love Benny's family, and so do I, but clearly, Isabella is in the wrong to do this. Ben will listen to you, and he will understand. And he will make Romeo understand"

"And what about Paulina and Claudio? And Anthony? And Beatrix?"

"Beatrix probably doesn't know what harassment means. Anthony has dubious morals anyway after what he did to poor Shylock. And as for Paulina and Claudio, they're firm but fair. They will listen to you, and they won't blame you for anything"

"How do you know that?"

"I _know _people, Merc"

Mercutio stuck his lower lip out "I want a hug"

Hermia clamoured up and wrapped her arms around him.

"Oi! Slut! Stop cheating on Benvolio with Mercutio!"

"Shut up, Tybalt, you prick! I was hugging him!" Hermia yelled back "Go and have sex with Rosaline"

"Or you can suck my dick if you like!" Mercutio shouted.

"I don't want to do anything of the sort!" roared Tybalt, storming downstairs.

"Shut up, Tybalt! You're waking the whole house up!" Juliet snapped, leaning over the banisters "Go back to bed!"

Tybalt stomped back upstairs. Hermia sat back down opposite Mercutio.

"What will I say?" he asked "And who will I tell first?"

"Your uncle?"

"He loves Angelo. He's always going on about how great he is, and how easy he is to work with. He'd make me tell everyone what I heard, and wouldn't care about the Montagues or how they'll feel about me afterwards. And he wouldn't let me take it at my own time or anything like that"

"Typical Escalus" Hermia nodded.

"Ugh, Hermy-wa, what will I do?"

"What about your mum?"

"She'll yell at me for not saying anything sooner"

"Ok. Not mum. Not Uncle Escalus. Why not try talking to Angelo himself?"

"He doesn't like me"

"You don't know that"

"Yes, I do. I called him a bad dad"

"That's the truth" shrugged Hermia "I feel sorry for him and all, but parenthood was not for him. And he knows it as well"

"Well, not Angelo, not Uncle Es, not mum. Who?"

"What about Gabe the Babe or Rosaline?"

"Gabriel came round the palace just now. He asked me. He said he needs to know. And anyway, Rosaline thinks I'm mad. Everyone thinks I'm mad. And even if I do say something, who will believe me, because I'm mad?"

"Ah, Merc. We all know how you enjoy being your crazy self, but perhaps there are times when you could be mature, and times when you could unleash your crazy self? People like your uncle, and your mum, will respect you more, and trust you more, like back during the wedding"

"Benvolio saw right through it. He knew I was up to something. He knew we were waiting to let rip with the panto"

"That's because he's known you for nineteen years"

Mercutio chuckled. Hermia crossed her bare legs and opened her mouth to speak again.

"I KNEW IT!" roared a voice. Rosaline stormed down the stairs "I KNEW MY FATHER WAS INNOCENT!"

"Jeez, Ros, don't wake the house up!" quipped Hermia.

Tybalt thundered after her.

"I want her punished!" Rosaline yelled "No one gets away with labelling my father as a pervert!"

The door knocked.

"Who is it now?" grumbled Tybalt. There was another scamper of feet as Juliet and Anne ran downstairs.

"Keep the noise down!" complained Juliet "Eliseo will wake up!"

Tybalt flung the door open.

"Is Rosaline here?" asked Gabriel.

"Oh, it's _you_" grunted Tybalt.

"Oh, hello Tybalt, how nice it is to see you" retorted Gabriel "And anyway, is Rosaline here?"

"Yes!" snapped Rosaline.

"So you made it ok through the rainstorm? Angelo sent me to check you were ok"

"I'm fine!" shouted Rosaline.

"What's the matter?"

"He just said our father is innocent!" Rosaline jabbed a finger at Mercutio.

Gabriel raised his thin blond eyebrows "But I was at the palace just now. I just asked him that very same question!"

"I overheard him telling her everything. He was saying why he wasn't going to tell anyone, and just let Angelo's life be ruined!"

"I never said that!" protested Mercutio.

"What the hell is going on?" demanded Juliet.

"Yeah, someone tell me!" added Tybalt.

"Stay out of this, Tibby!" Mercutio snapped.

"What are they all saying?" asked Anne, in English, to Hermia.

"EVERYONE BE QUIET!" bellowed Lord Capulet, storming downstairs in his dressing gown. The young adults were silent "What, in the name of God, is going on? Why are you rowing?"

"Mercutio's letting a Montague slut lie about my father!"

"Mercutio lied to me!"

"It's not my fault! I came to ask Hermia for advice!"

"That's enough!" thundered Lord Capulet "Right. It is past midnight. I want a good night's rest. Mercutio, you ought to go home now. Gabriel, so should you. And all of you should go to bed!"

"We can't!"

"We're trying to sort stuff out!"

"We're not kids anymore!"

"Fine! Sort it out, but be quiet!" Lord Capulet stormed back upstairs.

"How can you let Isabella get away with saying such slanderous lies?" demanded Rosaline, rounding on Mercutio.

"These sort of accusations can ruin a man's life. Do you understand?" added Gabriel.

"Yes, I do! But I value my friends way more than your stupid prick of a father!" snapped Mercutio.

"How dare you!" yelled Rosaline.

"Don't talk to my wife like that!" snarled Tybalt.

"Stay out of it, Tibby!"

"I won't!"

"Why won't you come forward and clear Angelo's name?" asked Gabriel.

"Why do you care all of a sudden?" asked Mercutio.

"Because he's..." Gabriel bit his lip, remembering Angelo's request that he keep his illness a secret.

"Yes?" said Hermia.

"Because we're patching things up!" replied Gabriel.

"What?!" gasped the whole room.

"Gabe?" gasped Rosaline.

"Don't call me Gabe!" instructed Gabriel. He turned back to the astonished room "Yes, we're trying to make things up with each other. He's explained to me a lot of things that make a lot of sense now I think about it, and we've agreed to try and put the past behind us for Alexei's sake. He doesn't have a mother. He needs his daddy, and his grandpa"

"Are you serious?" asked Tybalt.

"Yes. We'll probably never see eye to eye, and we'll probably never be friends, but he's my dad. I don't ever want us to be like poor King Harry and his demented psychotic freak of a son. Sorry, Anne"

"I didn't even know what you said, I can't understand Italian" replied Anne.

"I just insulted your husband"

"Well, whatever you said, I agree with it"

"So, Mercutio" Gabriel turned back to him "Why?"

"Because the Montagues will all hate me"

"So?" shrugged Tybalt "They're fucking Montagues!"

"Do you want to start feuding again?" demanded Hermia.

"I'd like to be able to punch certain members again, yes please!"

Hermia threw a cushion at him.

"They're practically my family. You don't betray your family. You just don't!" shouted Mercutio.

"Tell that to the Plantagenets!" Juliet remarked.

"Well, either way, I want her punished!" hissed Rosaline "Angelo's name will be cleared, and," she turned and looked at Gabriel "He'll get better too, won't he?"

"Most likely. But it will be hard" replied Gabriel.

"I've had enough" sighed Mercutio "Hermia, can I get in bed with you and Benny?"

"No!"

"How about if I kip on the floor?"

"Fine!"

Mercutio climbed up, and went upstairs. It was quiet, until Benvolio yelled "Stop molesting me, madman!"

"I want to go to bed as well" said Tybalt. He kissed the top of Rosaline's forehead "Angelo will get better. Loads of people recover"

"What's wrong with Angelo?" asked Hermia.

"None of your business!" barked Tybalt. He headed upstairs. That left Anne, Juliet, Hermia, Rosaline, and Gabriel.

"Could we speak English now?" asked Anne.

"Yes, we can" Gabriel ran a hand through his blond hair.

"I want Isabella to pay" Rosaline growled "I'll restart the feud if I have too. No, I'll make a new one. Montagues vs. Oftmoros. How does that sound?"

"Drastic" said Gabriel.

"Queen Elizabeth and Lady Macbeth would!"

"That's not the point" dismissed Gabriel.

"But Queen Elizabeth would never let anyone get away with hurting her father. She has sworn vengeance on those who murdered him"

Anne gasped.

"Not you!" snapped Rosaline.

"Leave out, Rosaline!" instructed Juliet "You be psycho bitch"

"My father says Queen Elizabeth is a witch. He says that she has King Edward under a love spell. She's done bad things" Anne murmured quietly.

"To people who deserve them!" snapped Rosaline.

"That's what she has told you" replied Anne.

Rosaline looked past them all "Gabriel. You're a Wiccan"

"And?"

"You know how to hex people"

"I know how to hex people, but I refuse to do it" replied Gabriel "What you sow, you reap. I won't hex anyone, less it should come back to haunt me"

"Well, surely delivering the hex is just delivering what they've sown!"

"You no hex person in my house" said Juliet.

"We in difficult position too. We know Angelo innocent, but Isabella aunt of Benvolio and Romeo. Montague is our house too"

"Oh, go to bed" sighed Rosaline "I need to talk to my brother privately"

Anne, Hermia, and Juliet left. They heard Hermia turf Mercutio out of her bed, and then turned to one another.

"Why did you run away?" asked Gabriel "Angelo asked for you"

"I couldn't cope" admitted Rosaline "I just can't bear things like that"

"But you're much more mature than me!"

"I know" Rosaline snapped "I just can't bear seeing him vulnerable. He's not...he's not supposed to be like that. He's supposed to be strong"

Gabriel understood what she meant. For much of his life, Angelo had been a domineering force. Now, he was faced with the prospect of Angelo no longer being there. It was the first time the thought and the reality of the prospect had ever crossed his mind. And it scared him.

"He worried about you, you know"

"I was fine. I took shelter under a tree. I found the weirdest thing ever, though. There were these initials, M, and, A, carved onto it"

"Michael and Angelo" murmured Gabriel.

"I'm still angry" seethed Rosaline.

"As am I" said Gabriel "Are you serious about that threat?"

"Yes. I am"

"I used to try and hex Angelo a lot when I first became Wiccan" admitted Gabriel "I never thought they'd worked. Maybe now they have. Only now, it's not what I want. You should always be careful what you wish for"

"I'm sure. I'm very sure"


	23. The Game of Politics

RichardIII1955 - Will Mercutio learn to do that? XD Anyway, here's what you wanted. Prince Prat is dead!

Oh dear! Gabriel and Rosaline have got together and put the puzzle together, and now they're on the warpath. What will happen now?

Meanwhile, we find out what happened to Prince Prat and Holy Harry!

* * *

After a sleepless night, Gabriel found himself back outside the ballet theatre, as he headed into rehearsal. When he danced, he didn't always need to think about what he was doing. He just moved.

So as he danced he thought about things more. After finally hearing Mercutio admit that he didn't hear Angelo harassing Isabella, then it was evident that Angelo was innocent. He and Rosaline had talked this through. Isabella had several possible motives for doing this. It could possibly be a slight against either him or Rosaline, or both, due to Rosaline's Capulet sympathies and Gabriel's overall undesirable personality, or a way of destabilising liberal politics so that the conservative politics that the Montagues traditionally preferred could regain popularity. Rosaline also believed that Isabella was not doing this alone, and that someone else must be behind it. Possibly her brother, Lord Montague. Gabriel hadn't mentioned the possibility of Amparo being involved in the ploy. He could hardly admit it to himself. In fact, last night, he hadn't gone home to her. He stayed out.

He knew she wasn't perfect. He knew she bitched and stabbed people in the back, and so did he. But this...this was too far.

"Perfect!" exclaimed Rene "You are perfect, Gabriel"

"What about me?" asked the boy playing the prince.

"You? I 'ave told you, zat you lazy!" scolded Rene "Right. Lunch break. And if you fat, you 'ave none. You 'ear me?"

"Guys, guess what!" one of the dancers rushed in.

"What is it?"

"In England, there was another battle! The Yorkists have won!"

"Really? Where did you find out?" asked Gabriel.

"On Twitter. KingNed04 just tweeted _'Just finished off the last Lancaster army and killed Prince Edouard! #yolo #smd #yorkrocks'_"

"Edouard's dead?" beamed Gabriel.

"Yep!"

"Ha! Edouard's dead! Edouard's dead!" cackled Gabriel, prancing around the room.

"Rude prince" Rene nodded in agreement " 'e deserve it!"

"There's more" said the dancer "It's trending in Italy #amparowasright"

"About vot?" asked Rene.

"She said that the City States ought to support York, even though Lancaster looked to be winning at the time. She said Edouard was a psychotic brat and a horrible husband, and would make an even more horrible king"

"Girlfriend ez Twitter famous!" exclaimed Rene "You proud?"

"Of course" said Gabriel, but the words were hollow.

"You know, if your girlfriend was the leader of the Democratic Liberals, I'd vote for them" said the dancer, as he left. Gabriel and Rene were left in the rehearsal room.

"Something ez wrong" said Rene.

"How can you tell?"

"I 'ave taught you since you was leetle baby. 'ow is baby, anyway?"

"Alexei? He's fine. He's started smiling. I was dancing for him the other day, and he smiled. It was a special moment"

"Alexei vill be danseur like you, Gabriel. 'e vill take after 'is daddy"

"Maybe" replied Gabriel.

"So what ez ze problem?"

"It's my own dad, Rene. He's..."

" 'e's what?"

"He's sick. It's cancer"

"Daddy 'as cancer?"

"Yeah. In his prostate"

Rene shuddered disgustedly "Ouch. 'ow do you feel about ziz?"

"Half of me felt like I should laugh. I'd wanted bad things to happen to him for years, and I spent so many hours cursing him. Half of me felt like finally it had come, and that he'd finally get what he deserved. But now...now I'm not so sure. He told me things...he explained a lot of things to me, and I feel like I understand him now. So many things happened to make him this way, and not all of it was his fault. He asked me not to tell anyone, but I just don't know what to do!"

"Vot do you vant to do?"

"I want to hug him and just wish he gets better" Gabriel fought back tears "But if he does, who's to say he'll go back to being the mean oppressor I'd known all my teen years?"

"Did 'e say sorry for ze nasty things 'e did?"

"Along those lines"

"Zen if 'e regrets it, maybe ez time for you to patch thengs up"

"But I don't know if he does regret it, or if he's just saying it because he's vulnerable and wants some support. He knows he'll get none from Rosaline. She hates hospitals and needles and sickness things. Suppose I make things up, and start to form a relationship with him, then he turns back to being the dick he always was...what will I do? My heart will be broken. I've wanted him to love me for so long"

"I do not know vot to suggest" sighed Rene "I 'ave no babies, I 'ave no daddy. But you 'ave both. Maybe ziz ez ze time for you to be friends, I not know. But remember, you always 'ave your old dance teacher. You are ze only son I vill ever 'ave"

Affectionately, he stroked Gabriel's blond hair back behind his ear.

"Thanks, Rene"

Gabriel hugged him. That wasn't half the whole story, but it made him feel better. And it had helped him make his mind up about one thing.

Angelo was not going to live forever. And Gabriel would not be like the Lancaster prince, who ridiculed and used his father's weaknesses in order to make his own gains. Angelo might have been a bad dad, but he had been a bad son. Whatever Amparo was up to, it was time to stop. Angelo didn't deserve this. He was a foolish sick man, who needed help. Who was Deputy or not didn't matter, as long as they always had each other. And there were still many years left. The first Gabriel would do to make things right would be to attend Angelo's first session of radiotherapy, and hold his hand as they laid him out on the table and fired lasers at him. Rosaline couldn't do it, and so Gabriel would have to.

Tonight he was going to confront Amparo. He was going to tell her to stop, and ask her why she had asked Isabella to accuse Angelo of sexual harassment.

* * *

Unbeknown to either Gabriel, Rosaline, Mercutio, or any of the other young adults, Escalus also wanted some answers.

He didn't want Angelo to lose power. He was the best Deputy he'd ever worked with. Usually, they had been old and stuffy and looked down at him. He'd become prince at age twenty seven, and virtually everyone he was working with was twenty years older than him. He and Angelo had been the same age and had remembered each other from one another's school days.

Dressing down in jeans, a shirt, and a jacket, he ruffled his blond hair and slouched. Perfect. No one would recognise him now. Escalus slipped out the palace and walked down the streets of Verona.

The church was much emptier than it had been during the wedding. Some nuns were clustered around a prayer book in a corner. Some choir boys were rehearsing, and Friar Lawrence was preparing a sermon.

"Friar Lawrence" greeted Escalus.

Friar Lawrence looked at him, and then did a double take "Prince Escalus?"

"Ssh" Escalus pressed his finger to his lips. Friar Lawrence took the hint, and quickly walked with him out of the main church, across the gardens, and over to the cells where he and the other friars slept. Many of them were long gone, out on errands, such as visiting the sick, keeping the church and the community running, and so it was full of silence.

"How can I help you?"

Escalus pressed his hands to his forehead "My politicians...they're all a complete nightmare. Isabella has accused Angelo of sexually harassing her...Angelo's fainted live on telly and I think he might be sick but he won't answer my calls...Angelo's convinced Amparo is after him...oh, and Mercutio is driving me nuts"

"When is Mercutio not driving anyone nuts?" nodded Friar Lawrence sympathetically "What has he done this time?"

"He hid inside a decorative suit of armour and chased some of the servants down the hall"

"Oh wonderful"

"Exactly. I swear that he has...something. He's just...not normal! Oh, well. At least he'll go back to Venice in a few days. But in the meantime, I have to sort out my government. I don't know who is right and who is wrong anymore, Friar Lawrence. I don't know who to believe"

Friar Lawrence nodded sympathetically.

"Which is why I've come here" said Escalus "I've disguised myself before, but most of my guises have been foiled now"

"I liked the one with the moustache" Friar Lawrence couldn't help but grin.

"And I can thank Mercutio for that. He stuck it on Prince Edouard's buttocks" Escalus rolled his eyes "Have you heard he's dead?"

"Yes, I have. We're trying to keep it quiet here"

"Why's that?"

"I'll show you"

Escalus followed Friar Lawrence through to a library. A man was sitting in an armchair, pouring over a bible. It was hard to believe that once a crown had rested on his head, where now long hair was growing out.

"King Henry?" gaped Escalus.

"Young Romeo Montague brought him to us. On the morning all the other Lancasters left, he wandered off and they forgot about him. He lived on the streets for several weeks, until Romeo and his friends found him and brought him to us. He asked to stay. I said yes. He's changed his name, too. He's calling himself Harry Caster. We're keeping the news of the battle from him...he wasn't doing very well when they brought him in, and we don't want him to get worse. Romeo told us that Angelo's boy Gabriel believed he had catatonic schizophrenia, but once we've had him diagnosed we just don't know"

Friar Lawrence led the way out.

"So, what can I do to help?"

"I need to borrow a friar's robe" said Escalus "I need to be able to find out what everyone is up to. And no one ever suspects a friar"

* * *

The apartment was silent when Gabriel stepped inside. The living room was dark, and so was the kitchen. There was a soft glow from Alexei's room which was coming from his night lamp. Gabriel peered in to check on him. Alexei lay on his back, sucking his dummy. His little hands were clenched into fists, and he was snuggled under his blanket. The window was closed, his blankets were the right amount, and he did not seem to be in need of anything. Gabriel closed the door silently, and then moved along the corridor, to go and confront her.

Amparo was asleep as well. She slept on her back, with one hand laying on the pillow, and the other across her body. Her dark hair tumbled across the pillow invitingly. For one moment, Gabriel was tempted to slide in beside her, and enjoy her warm embrace. His feet and legs ached from tonight's performance, and the adrenaline was slowing and driving his body to tiring point.

But he couldn't. How could he lie with this woman when she had lied about his father? Gabriel had lied and spread rumours before, but that was silly kids stuff. I mean, did anyone seriously think that Hermia Capulet had been caught with three gardeners in the gardening shed when she was thirteen?

Gabriel shook Amparo's arm "Wake up"

Amparo stirred, her dark eyes flickering open "You're back? How was the performance?"

"Fine. I danced beautifully, as always"

"Good. I'm glad it went well. Are you going to come to bed with me?"

"No. I need to speak to you"

Amparo sat up, adjusting the blankets to cover her state of undress "Can't it wait until morning?"

"No"

"Then what is it?"

"Did you set Isabella up to lie about Angelo?" demanded Gabriel, deciding it was best to have it out with "Did you tell her to lie about him sexually harassing her so you could get him out of power so that you could be Deputy instead?"

"I thought this was what you wanted" Amparo replied simply.

"Not like this!" Gabriel cried.

"Then how did you want it, Gabriel?"

"I...I thought we were just going to play pranks on him, spread silly rumours...I told you all that stuff so you could get him out..."

"And I have used it" said Amparo firmly "You knew what I meant. You wanted him gone just as much as I did. This was to be your revenge. You knew"

"I didn't"

"You did"

"You lied to me"

"I'm a politician. I do it everyday"

"Well, that's...that's wrong!"

"That's life"

Gabriel's lip trembled. Suddenly, everything came crushing down at once. Gabriel had held so much trust, so much faith in her, and now...now she was a liar, just like Angelo! She had ulterior motives, an agenda suited to her own means, this wasn't right!

"Ok, so you and Isabella struck this deal" Gabriel said, trying to keep his voice level, trying not shriek as he did when he was angry or frightened "What did you promise her in return?"

"I promised that I would prevent liberal reforms to the laws. Isabella believes that it's the power I'm in for, but I'm not. Once I'm Deputy, I don't need her. I will make the liberal reforms, whether she likes it or not, and I will give everyone a better future than Angelo ever could. And Isabella won't be able to stop me, because it will mean revealing the lie and incriminating herself"

"And so Angelo has to live with the label of pervert for the rest of his life, whilst you get to be Deputy and do all the things he dreamt of doing!"

"He had his chance" shrugged Amparo "And he didn't dream or truly care about the people, otherwise he would have done it. Besides, after everything you told me he did to you, he deserves it. It's tough luck. Perhaps someday someone will come after me like that, but that's the game of politics. And anyway, I'd like to see them try"

Tears were blurring Gabriel's eyes. He didn't want to stay here a moment longer!

"I'm...I'm leaving!" he announced. And with that, he did. He climbed up, grabbed a bag and stuffed all his clothes inside before Amparo could so much as pull on a dressing gown. Then went all his shoes, his make-up and toiletries. He heaped it all on the sofa, and then snuck into Alexei's room. He packed all Alexei's clothes and shoes, nappies, bottles, milk formula, dummies, blankets and cuddly toys into another bag, before gently lifting his son from his cradle and wrapping him in a blanket.

Amparo scrambled after him "Where are you going?"

"Away" replied Gabriel. He opened the fire exit "Snooky!" he called out into the night "Snooky-pooky, come to daddy!"

His fluffy white Persian cat came bounding in, followed by Amparo's chocolate brown Persian cat Coco. Gabriel pulled out the pet carrier, and Snooky hissed at it, remembering her previous experience of being on the run from Shylock with Gabriel. Gabriel had no patience, and simply shoved her in. Snooky hissed again, and Gabriel carried her out to his car. Three journeys he made, the first time carrying Snooky, the second time carrying his and Alexei's stuff, and the third was for the baby himself. Amparo was holding him, horrified.

"Give me my son"

"You can't leave"

"Yes, I can"

"You have nowhere to go"

"I think I do, actually"

"Are you going to sleep on the floor of your dressing room?"

"No"

"Then where are you going?"

"I don't want to tell you. Now give me my son"

"Don't do this, Gabe..."

"Don't call me Gabe!"

"I love you! I did this for us!"

"No" said Gabriel coldly "You did this for you"

She stared at him. It alarmed Gabriel to see her so unsettled, when he was used to seeing her calm and in control. In the end, he simply snatched his son from her arms. Alexei snuffled, and clasped a lock of Gabriel's hair. Gabriel carried him out to the car triumphantly. He placed him in his baby car seat, and swung into the driver's seat.

The last time he ran away in the night, he had been a frightened boy-child, who thought he was a man, an adult, and he had run away with no place to go. He had no money, no family, no ties, but this time he did.

He had Alexei, and that made all the difference.

And for Alexei's sake he would swallow his pride.

So he was going home.

He was going home to Angelo.


	24. Old Wounds

RichardIII1955 - Thanks! How come Amparo's getting on your nerves? But ding-dong, Prince Prat is dead!

Oh no! Gabriel has broken up with Amparo! And he knows what she's up to! Will Angelo accept him again? And will he be able to clear his father's name? Meanwhile, Mercutio quotes from the Lion in Winter, and Allegra reads Pillars of the Earth. A lot of medievel British history is parodied in this chapter!

* * *

"Busy day, Uncle Es?" asked Mercutio, as Escalus walked in holding a large bag.

"Very"

"What have you been up to?"

"I've been visiting Friar Lawrence"

"Um! Were you confessing? Have you been a naughty boy?" giggled Mercutio.

"No. I haven't. But you have"

Mercutio groaned "What have I done now?"

"Friar Lawrence told me what you and your friends did with King Henry"

Mercutio went silent.

"Whilst it was not the right thing to do...the right thing to do would have been to return him to my custody...it was a very kind thing you did, Merc"

Mercutio remained silent.

"He'll get the help he needs for his illness, and he'll be able to start a new life, one where he'll be happy, and safe. God only knows what the Yorkists would have done with him..."

"But I thought we liked the Yorkists!" burst out Mercutio.

"We are allied to them, yes, but that doesn't make them saints. He's a threat to their rule, even if he doesn't want to be king. He's an object for rebellions and such"

"So what will we tell them?"

"That he's probably dead. If Angelo was here, I'd have him put some rumours around about a body being found in the River Adige"

Mercutio looked horrified for a moment.

"It's the kindest thing to do" Escalus repeated "The poor man just wants to spend his days praying, not ruling. And England needs a strong king like Edward to bring peace again"

"But what would Hal think?" asked Mercutio. Mercutio loved tales about the riotous youth of the French-hating king who had been Harry's father, and it upset him that his son was suffering like this.

"Harry is not Hal. What Hal and Harry wanted and aspired to are very different things. Just because a crown is handed down generation to generation, it doesn't mean the right person is wearing it. I should know" Escalus rubbed the red ring on his forehead where his crown had perched earlier that day.

"Like Gabriel the First who lost the Veronese Empire to Mantua after his parents and his brother had fought for years for it"

"Yes, like Gabriel the First who lost the Veronese Empire to Mantua after his parents and his brother had fought for years for it" Escalus rolled his eyes.

Mercutio grinned "I like the play about him and his brothers. 'Poor Gabriel. Who says poor Gabriel? Don't everybody sob all at once! My God, if I went up in flames there's not a living soul who'd pee on me to put the fire out!' and then 'Let's strike a flint and see!'"

"Actually, I think that's the one about the Plantagenets, but it goes poor John"

"Oh, yeah, I know which one! Hermia fancies Geoffrey" Mercutio grinned.

"But anyway, I'm proud of you" Escalus gently patted Mercutio's shoulder. Mercutio felt a sudden warmth growing in his heart. Escalus had never told him he was proud of him before! Usually he was telling him off for being loud or silly, or if he ever showed his family his artwork from university, he usually sucked his teeth and told him he was weird.

Escalus wandered off, and so did Mercutio. He knew his way around the palace very well, and so he walked at his own leisure, finding himself in the hall where the likeness of every Veronese Prince or Princess was hung on the wall. Mercutio's favourite was Herminio V, or rather, Hermia I, since Herminio IV had no sons, and so his eldest daughter was raised and presented as a boy. Herminio V was no lady, but a great military leader, smashing the Mantuans in a shocking victory, where her troops were outnumbered three to one. Mercutio liked her because she reminded him of the Hermia he knew. He also liked the seventh Herminio, who defeated Tybalt III in a shocking victory, which lead Verona into a new dynasty. None of the Prince Tybalts had ever had much luck, which made him grin. Tybalt I, the Cat Prince, as they called him, was killed whilst besieging Montague Ranch with some Capulet allies. It was from this Prince that the Tybalt Mercutio knew received his nickname, the Prince of Cats. Tybalt II had been usurped by Herminio IV for being an idiot. As well as that, Tybalt I had had an idiotic bratty little brother, Gabriel I, who had succeeded him. Or rather, Gabriel the Worst, since he lead Verona to ruin, and lost all their land. Because of him, no Veronese Princes had been named Gabriel since. Mercutio giggled, thinking of the Gabriel that he knew.

"What are you doing, freak?" spat Paris.

"Looking at the sexy pictures" retorted Mercutio.

"I hope you weren't planning on defacing them, _as usual_" glowered Paris.

"No, I was wondering which one to take to bed with me" replied Mercutio "Don't you think Rosaline I looks like she's constipated?"

"Shut up" snapped Paris "Go to your room and be a freak for Allegra. She's the only one who finds you remotely tolerable"

"I'll go where I want, you three-nippled monster"

Paris flamed red "That's a rumour!"

"It's a true rumour" Mercutio grinned.

"It's a rumour spread by Gabriel, which makes it pretty untrue" spat Paris.

"Well, let's have a look then! TAKE YOUR TOP OFF!"

"Shut up!" roared Paris, shoving Mercutio away from him roughly. Mercutio made a noise of surprise. Paris hissed, and stood over him "Have I told you how sick to death I am of you, and how much I hate you? You're a complete freak. You're completely mad, and not in a good way. You rant and rave, and you've just embarrassed yourself the whole summer, and everyone is laughing at you. No, not with you, because they think you're funny, but at you, because you're a freak. You're a burden and an embarrassment to us all, Helena and all of her friends are terrified of you, and Allegra deserves better!"

Mercutio's lower lip wobbled, and he turned and ran. Paris breathed out triumphantly. With any luck, that would get rid of him.

Mercutio burst through his bedroom door. That happy feeling of pride he felt was gone. Micro was asleep in his cot, surrounded by all of his cuddly toys, Monty was asleep on the end of Mercutio's bed, and Allegra was reading _The Pillars of the Earth_.

"Let's go back to Venice!" beamed Mercutio, trying to push Paris' hurtful words to the back of his mind.

"We're going in a few days" replied Allegra.

"No, let's go now!" declared Mercutio. He jumped on the armchair, and started to leap about. Only it didn't feel fun, he felt stupid. He slowed. What was this feeling? Every time he carried out one of his crazy antics, he felt silly. What was going on?

"Now? It's night! Micro's asleep!"

"And I want to go now! I want to get out of poopy old Verona, and get away from all the old pooheads, like stupid fucking Paris, and do what I want!" shrieked Mercutio, throwing cushions across the room.

"Mercutio?" asked Allegra, as he sank onto the sofa moaning.

"Am I mad, Al?"

Allegra kissed his forehead "Yes, Merc. But you're an artist, and all artists are bonkers. What's happened?"

"Paris"

"That boring dickhead who used to hanker after Juliet?"

"None other"

"We'll get him back. I'll put some itching powder in his underwear draw like I did to Tybalt a few years back. No one calls my Merc names and gets away with it, understand?"

Mercutio lay his head in her lap, and Allegra stroked his wild black hair. It was hard. Sometimes his imagination whirled faster and faster than he could comprehend. He could barely keep up with himself, and neither could anyone else. He loved Allegra with all his heart, and she probably deserved better than a freak like him, but he thanked God for her. Thank God for his one true love.

* * *

The night air kissed Gabriel's skin as climbed out the car. Alexei mewed with protest as Gabriel disturbed his sleep for the second time that night.

"Almost there, my little love. You'll sleep in daddy's old room tonight"

Gabriel headed towards the front door, and knocked. And waited.

Angelo opened it. By the looks of things, he had been sleeping in his clothes.

"Gabe?"

It was on the tip of Gabriel's tongue to snap, "Don't call me Gabe!" but he restrained himself. He did not want to argue or irritate Angelo, or it would ruin his chance.

"Hello, Angelo"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm moving back in with you" replied Gabriel.

"What?"

"I'm moving back in with you!" Gabriel smiled, too, to try and ease the tension. Angelo just gawped at him. Then, Alexei wailed loudly. Gabriel knew that he was tired and probably hungry.

"You've brought Alexei?"

"I confronted Amparo. We argued...so I left. Could I come in and feed Alexei? He's hungry and tired, and probably needs his nappy changing. I didn't get the chance to give him a bottle before I left"

"Come in" sighed Angelo, holding the door open "But they'll be no parties, no smoking, no drinking, no horrible stupid pop music-"

It was on the tip of Gabriel's tongue to yell that his music was not stupid, nor did he smoke, nor did he have any alcohol, and nor did he intend to have any parties, but he held his tongue. He couldn't risk offending Angelo. And even if he did, then what did it achieve? Angelo would only get mad at him. Best to keep the peace.

Instead, he stepped inside silently. His stuff was still in the car, but he was carrying Alexei's bag of things. Snooky was also still in the car.

"One more thing, Angelo" Gabriel added "I brought Snooky with me, and she's-"

"Not that bloody cat!"

"She's lovely!" cried Gabriel.

Angelo groaned "I hope I don't come to regret this"

"You won't!" exclaimed Gabriel earnestly "Honestly, you won't. I'll be a good son. Snooky will behave herself, and Alexei is always good. He hardly ever cries, apart from when he's hungry and stuff. And I won't cause trouble, or set a firework off up the chimney. Here, just hold Alexei, and I'll get all my stuff. I'll put it in my old room, and I won't make a mess"

"Where's Alexei sleeping?" asked Angelo.

"In my bed. I didn't have time to grab his carrycot, but I can get it tomorrow"

Bemused, Angelo watched Gabriel fetch all his things in from the car and carry them up to his bedroom. He prepared Alexei a bottle, and curled up on the sofa with him. Alexei slowly and methodically sucked on the bottle, his eyes closed in tranquillity. Gabriel watched down at him, murmuring softly. Snooky hissed at Angelo, but then curled up at Gabriel's feet. Soon, Gabriel clamoured up and tucked Alexei up in his large bed, and then came and sat down next to Angelo in the living room. Angelo was embarrassed. The remnants of his readymeal sat on the coffee table, and Angelo had been sleeping on the sofa in his clothes, covered in crumbs. He didn't know what to say to this estranged son, especially now that they were living together again for a while.

"What did you and Amparo row over?"

"You" replied Gabriel.

"Me?"

"Yes" Gabriel gave a long, loud sigh "She set you up"

"I knew it!" Angelo almost roared in triumph.

Gabriel glanced down, trying not to cry.

"What's wrong with you?"

"She lied to me" he snivelled.

"She lied to you? Ha! She lied about me!"

"I loved her!" cried Gabriel "I still love her, I thought that...I thought she cared for me. I thought we had a future together, and I had hoped to marry her one day"

Angelo almost laughed aloud. The idea of Gabriel marrying Amparo was hilarious. I mean, the question of who would be the one wearing a white dress was amusing on it's own!

"Oh, Gabe!" he chortled "Why do you think she shacked up with you and put up with so much? You are nineteen, a ballerina, you cheated on her and now you've got a kid who isn't even hers, and she kept you, of course she had ulterior motives towards you!"

"That's not fair! I met her when I was seventeen! And I didn't cheat on her, we had an open long-distance relationship! She had sex with other men too! Oh, and I'm not a ballerina, I'm a danseur, and in fact, I am the danseur noble"

"So you keep saying" Angelo rolled his eyes. He sniggered "She wanted you, even though you were fifteen years younger than her, to be able to get at me. Oh, I know it all now! A year before she ever met you, I flirted with her myself, and she turned me down! So, she's getting at me for being a flirt and being in her way to power, which is why she needed you. Now, she doesn't need you and she can do whatever she wants. So you've come crawling back to me"

"It's only temporary" Gabriel quickly defended himself "I'll get my own place, you'll see, and I'll take care of Alexei"

"You can barely take care of yourself. You are a numpty. It's just as well you're back here. I could teach you a few things"

Gabriel glared up at him from under his platinum blond hair. It was all Angelo could do not to laugh at the sight. To distract himself, he rearranged the cushions and plumped up the sofa, brushing away any crumbs. He supposed he ought to get changed and go to bed, really, but Gabriel didn't seem to be inclined to do either.

"What's the matter?" asked Angelo.

Gabriel burst into tears.

Now Angelo came to think of it, his son was a very sensitive boy. He was much more sensitive than any other lads his age, but that was him. Making fun of him for his mistakes in his relationships and life would not accomplish anything, it would only alienate them from each other, and make Gabriel resent him. That's what Angelo had achieved so far. What Gabriel needed was comfort and sensitivity.

Angelo wandered over to him, and awkwardly placed his arms around him.

"It's all right. I was just joking. You're young and it's only to be expected. I did stupid things too when I was nineteen"

Gabriel flung his arms around Angelo's waist and howled onto him.

"I'll clear your name" he wailed "It'll be my apology to you. I told Amparo mean stuff about you and I started it, but I'll stop it. I'll work with Juno and make everyone like you again. I'll make Mercutio tell everyone you're innocent"

Angelo just gaped.

* * *

The next morning, Gabriel went in pursuit of Mercutio with a new vigour.

"What do you mean, he's gone?" he asked Paris.

"Oh, he's gone!" grinned Paris delightedly "Which means my wife will be able to have her friends round without them being in fear of that freak"

"What's so scary about Mercutio?" asked Gabriel.

Paris frowned "Are you stupid? He's fucking terrifying! He exposed himself to her and ran around the palace singing 'Milkshake!'"

Gabriel sniggered.

"It's not funny!" barked Paris.

"It is a bit" giggled Gabriel.

"I think Rose was scarred for life"

"Rose?"

"Yes, she's friends with Helena" Paris frowned again "Oh, she's your ex, isn't she?"

"Yes"

"And your kid's mother"

"Yes, she is" Gabriel replied defensively, crossing his arms "What's it to you?"

"I heard her say giving him up was the best thing she'd ever done"

Tears welled in Gabriel's eyes. He wiped them away furiously "I don't care. It's her problem. Can you tell me where Mercutio has gone?"

"Wherever freaks go"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Oh, who cares? All I know is that he's gone, and I don't have to put up with him anymore" cackled Paris.

"Do you have a number I could call him on?" asked Gabriel.

"No. I avoid speaking to him whenever possible"

"He's your cousin"

"And?"

Great. Mercutio had left Verona, and so Angelo's witness had also left Verona. What was he to do?


	25. Duties

RichardIII1955 - I know! I hate Paris! I always hated him in the play, so I like making him mean and stupid. I thought you'd like the references!

Well, Mercutio is gone, leaving Gabriel and Angelo screwed. Meanwhile, some other characters start to cotton onto the plots being conducted all around them, and Angelo begins radiotherapy. And, Amparo makes a surprising display in the Burry Estate.

Much of the dialogue from when Amparo is speaking to the orphans is based on the dialogue from a scene in my favourite show and book series, Game of Thrones, where the character, Lady Margaery Tyrell, defies her horrible husband to be, King Joffrey, to look after some orphans.

* * *

"Hello, bitchface"

"Hello, Gabriel" replied Amparo calmly.

"Angelo's not coming into work today, so you can take over and be a control freak. How do you like that?"

"I am delighted" sighed Amparo.

"He's going to hospital, and I'm going with him, so don't ring either of us"

"I have no intentions to"

"Good" Gabriel hung up.

So Angelo was in hospital? Amparo would have to ask her sister Santana for any details. In the meantime, she and the party were campaigning in the dreaded Burry Estate. Most politicians, unless they had a particular desire to have eggs thrown at them, avoided it. But Amparo knew that if she won over the population of the estate, then a large portion of votes would be hers.

They climbed into the cars. Amparo sat with Ralph and Clive. Ralph was one of Angelo's biggest supporters, and he had broken his leg after 'falling' down the stairs. Well, the truth was that Gabriel had buttered them so he would be forced to go on sick leave, and so Amparo could have greater control of the party during Angelo's prolonged absences. That had worked, and now she all but led the party. Now, all Angelo had to do was resign.

The car slowly drove past a children's home.

"Stop the car" commanded Amparo.

"Stop the...wait, what? We're not even there yet?" protested Ralph, glancing out the car, terrified at all the chavs looming around.

The car stopped, and Amparo climbed out.

"Amparo!" cried Clive, sticking his head out the door "Stop! We should have guards!"

Amparo turned and gave him a charming smile "These people won't hurt me" she turned around and almost banged into a skinhead. He towered above her, and he was thrice as wide. Clive gasped. Many other women would have been terrified, but Amparo decided that charm would be her best defence. She smiled again "Pardon me"

She stepped around him and headed inside. The residents all glanced at her confused.

Clive looked around, wondering whether to cower with Ralph in the car, or run after her and find out what she was doing.

When Clive eventually did make his mind up and follow her inside, this was what he found.

Amparo sat on a threadbare sofa, with a baby not much older than Alexei gurgling and cooing on her lap. She was facing a young blond boy of six years old, who sat beside her. All the other children sat in a circle around her. Lanky teenagers hulked in the doorways, but they were watching quietly. The social workers and caregivers were watching, amazed.

"My dad went to England to fight in the War of the Roses" explained a little boy "But he never came back"

"And your mother?"

"She didn't want me. When I was born. She left me with my dad"

"What about the rest of your family?"

"I don't have one"

Amparo nodded sympathetically, and then looked him in the eyes.

"A bad prince wanted to be the king of England, and do terrible things to the people, but your dad stopped him" she explained clearly. Then, she turned to one of her assistants, and reached for a toy knight in one of the buckets they held "When you look at this knight, I want you to remember your dad"

The boy took it "He wasn't a knight, they only had them in the olden days"

"But what did knights do? Protect the weak, and fight for the good. Your dad did that. Remember him, and be proud of him" she turned to another boy "Did your dad fight in the War of Roses too?"

He nodded, eagerly accepting her attention. Amparo smiled, indulging him.

"You should be proud too" she handed him a knight, then turned back to the rest of the children "Under King Edward's leadership, many of your mums and dads saved England. They saved us all. Now, I'm going to take care of you all. I want you to come to me, to tell me what you want, and what you need. Tell me what changes you want to the law, and how you think we can make Verona a better place. You are the children, and you are the future of Verona, and you should be given a say"

The children clapped enthusiastically.

Half an hour later, Amparo left, her hands being clasped by two of the little ones. She turned back to the social worker.

"Come to me for whatever you need. Whenever there's a problem, whenever you feel as though our government isn't doing enough...come to me. Whether it's to feed them, clothe them, educate them, I am at your service" she glanced back at the limousine of stunned politicians, and leant forwards "Directly to me"

She clamoured into the limousine with a final wave at the children.

"What...why?" gaped Clive.

"Those children don't have anyone to care about them" stated Amparo "We are the government. It is our duty to care for everyone, whether they are rich or poor, young or old, male or female, it is our duty. If you give people your love, they will return it a thousand times over. Those social workers will be voting. In a few years time, those children, will be voting. People don't forget love"

* * *

"You know, you could use the front door now"

"I know" Romeo smiled "But the balcony is so much more romantic"

Juliet heaved him over the railings.

"Did you see Amparo on the news earlier?" asked Juliet.

"I did"

"Wasn't she great?" Juliet opened the door to her room, and they both filed through "When I'm Lady Capulet, that's what I want to be like. Not like mean Rosaline, stuffing money in her purse, but kind, and generous. I want the people to love me"

"And they will. But nowhere near as much as I do"

Juliet's heart fluttered. However long they had been together now, Romeo had an uncanny way of making her still feel like the fourteen year old girl she had been when they met. He still looked quite young and fresh-faced, even though he was nineteen last May, with his round face and smooth cheeks.

They both cuddled up on her bed. Down the corridor, they could hear Tybalt snoring loudly. Tybalt and Rosaline had stayed with them this summer as it really was too small in Regina's house, plus they didn't want to have to eat 'Sausage Surprise!' every night. Next door to Juliet's room, Hermia was probably doing the same thing as them with Benvolio. Juliet thought it was strange how both she and her half-sister had managed to fall for and ensnare a pair of cousins. Montague cousins, nonetheless. Delicately, she wrapped a strand of Romeo's chocolate brown hair around her finger, and played with it.

"Will you miss Mercutio and Benvolio when they go back to Venice?"

"Mercutio has already left"

"Already? But there's several more days until term starts!"

"I know. Paris upset him the other day. Apparently, Mercutio freaked all the wedding guests out when they were here, and now they're gone he's been freaking Helena and all her friends out, so Paris is mad at him. Mercutio thought it would be best to go now. Ben said he'll follow in a few more days"

"I suppose we'll all come back for weekends and to meet up" agreed Juliet.

"And we'll all have to come back for the election in November. Who are you voting for?"

"I don't know" Juliet chewed her lip "I want to vote for Amparo, but to vote for Amparo means voting for Angelo, and I don't like him. I think he's creepy. I still can't believe what he said to your aunt!"

"I want to vote for Amparo too" agreed Romeo "I mean, I know my parents are conservative, but it's just...so extreme! And the way Vincent thinks that just because he'll be in charge, everyone should have to follow his views and his religion is just out of order!"

"I agree. What about the other left-wing party?"

"They barely ever get any seats in government. A vote for them is a wasted vote, in my opinion. You may as well vote for one of the main ones"

"Why won't Angelo just resign already?" sighed Juliet "And then Amparo can take over and there wouldn't be any problems"

"Me too. She's good at finding a compromise between right and left, so that people's beliefs are respected either way. My family have put pressure on the Democratic Liberals by saying we'll support them if Angelo goes, but it hasn't had much effect, because Angelo has told Amparo that your family will declare their support if Rosaline declares support from the Oftmoros for him"

"Which of course hasn't happened. Rosaline isn't Lady Oftmoro _yet_, and she hasn't quite restored the Oftmoros _yet_. She insists on being called Lady Rosaline and wears their jewels, and has claimed the seat in the House of Lords for her mother, but of course, her mother is Lady Oftmoro, and she hates Angelo with a passion, because he's her ex husband and he dumped her for a nineteen year old, who spawned the demon brat, Gabriel" nodded Juliet "I don't know why they called him that. They should have called him Lucifer"

Romeo sniggered.

"And my family, of course, have not declared support for him" Juliet went on.

"How come?"

"My dad says the decision rests with me" said Juliet, somewhat proudly. She beamed "He's been training me to take over the Capulets this year, and he said I can make the decision. But I don't want to support Angelo"

"No, me neither" Romeo sighed "I wish my parents would let me do that!"

"Well, who would you support?"

"Not Angelo, since he's been creeping on my aunt! Do you want to know exactly what he said to her?"

"Yes! What did he say?"

"Well, he said, that he would change his parties policies to suit her brother's, you know, my dad's, beliefs, if she had sex with him"

"Yuck!"

"I know!"

"I can't believe anyone would say that! Why?"

"I have no idea! Has Rosaline said anything about it to you?"

Juliet suddenly looked troubled.

"What is it?" asked Romeo.

She looked at him with her sky blue eyes "Well, when she first found out, she was very cold to him. But she's come round, slowly. But I'll tell you what, the strangest thing happened the other night"

"Really? What happened?"

"Well, first, Rosaline came home, soaking wet. She'd gone out to Angelo's, as he'd invited her and Gabriel around that evening. But she was crying, and crying, and she went upstairs with Tybalt. I didn't hear everything because I was half-asleep. Then Mercutio showed up. There was a load of yelling, so I got up to investigate. So did Anne. Rosaline was back downstairs, and she was yelling 'I knew my father was innocent!' Then Gabriel showed up, and he started yelling at Mercutio. My dad got up, yelled at them all, told them to shut up, etcetera. But apparently, this was all to do with the whole harassment thing. Gabriel and Rosaline were both mad at Mercutio, because apparently, Mercutio was outside when your aunt claims Angelo harassed her and knows the truth"

"Really?" asked Romeo.

"Yeah. And Rosaline was absolutely furious. She started on at Gabriel to hex people, saying Queen Elizabeth and Lady Macbeth would do it, but he refused. Me, Hermia and Anne were the last people to leave the room, but they stayed there, talking, so we leaned over the banisters to listen. And here's where it gets creepy. They put their coats on, and went outside. We went downstairs, and watched. They walked for ages, so we put coats on over our pyjamas and followed them. They walked down to the River Adige, and then Gabriel started chanting. We couldn't hear what he said clearly because we stayed out of their earshot, but he and Rosaline lit a candle, wrote something on a piece of paper, and then burnt it and threw the ashes in the river! Anne and Hermia were both freaking. I think they've cursed someone!"

"They what?" Romeo's eyes went wide.

"Remember when Eliseo was born? When Gabriel was mucking around in the woods? I think he's still Wiccan"

"But isn't that devil-worship?"

"No! It's paganism, which people believed in long before Jesus made an appearance. Oberon and Titania aren't devil-worshippers, but Gabriel probably is and uses the pretence of being Wiccan. Remember what he's like"

"I do" said Romeo, shuddering "I am amazed Ben can forgive him"

"Maybe that's how he enchanted Rose. With a love spell. They said Queen Elizabeth did it to King Edward, and that her mother was a witch. Well, Rosaline is Gabriel's half-sister, and she hung out with her during the wedding. Perhaps they're in some coven or something"

Romeo shuddered again "This sounds like one of Mercutio's fairy stories"

Juliet glanced at the clock "Look how late it is! We've been talking all this time!"

"I definitely think there's a link" said Romeo, pulling off his shoes and shirt and crawling under the duvet "I think this is all involved with the election somehow. This makes Angelo seem even creepier! If his son is practising evil witchcraft to keep him in power"

"It's not evil. Titania and Oberon are Wiccan and they're not evil. I heard they threw him out their coven for being naughty. And the weird thing is, Angelo and Gabriel hate each other, but according to Gabriel, they're patching things up. What is going on?"

"And Gabriel is with Amparo. Wouldn't he be doing everything in his power to get her to the top, not keep Angelo there?"

"That's right. I hadn't thought of this"

"When I'm Lord Montague...I hope none of this is still going on!"

* * *

Gabriel helped Angelo into bed. Angelo moaned softly with pain, and lay back on the cushions. He eased off Angelo's shoes, and then handed him some painkillers. Angelo took them desperately.

"I had no idea it would hurt his much" groaned Angelo.

"But the first one is out the way. Eight more weeks, Angelo"

"Eight more weeks...of this!"

"It'll be finished before the election" said Gabriel "You might even have the all clear by then!"

"Wonderful" grunted Angelo, and Gabriel decided it was best to leave him to sleep the pain off. He'd taken the day and the night off to support Angelo, since Rosaline couldn't face it. He was beginning to regret it. At times like this, he needed to dance. And all Angelo had done was moan at him and complain, which Gabriel felt was unfair. He'd tried to support Angelo, and be nice, and Angelo had thrown it back in his face, as usual. But, Gabriel reminded himself, if he had cancer, he would be exactly the same. No, he'd probably be worse. He just had to persevere. It had been a big thing for Angelo to admit his vulnerability to Gabriel, and now he had to lick his wounds.

So, Gabriel went downstairs and switched on the news. Hopefully some other miserable people could distract him.

He was surprised to see Amparo. There was a section about her campaign. Apparently, she had walked alone into a children's home in the Burry Estate, and handed out toys and chatted to the children. She had been honest, open, and charming. Gabriel sighed. That was just like her.

That was why he loved her.

No. She was not honest, and she was not open. She had lied to him, and deceived him. She had told a terrible lie, just to ruin and Angelo and get him out the way. How could she do that?

Gabriel felt like he couldn't trust anyone anymore. He was so stupid. How could he have fallen for her so hard? He had felt deeper feelings for her than he had for Rose, and she had been the mother of his child. It had all made sense why Amparo had accepted Alexei so easily, when most women would have been furious. She just wanted to use him to climb the ladder of politics. He was a stupid little boy who never learnt.


	26. Rosaline and Gabriel

RichardIII1955 - Thanks! You know I love a bit of GoT! Oh, and there's a bit more in this chapter!

So, with Mercutio gone, can Gabriel and Rosaline hatch a scheme to get him back, and get the true story from him? Meanwhile, plans for an 'Edouard's Deadouard' party get underway, as well as a musical based on his life...

* * *

"Mercutio has left?" Rosaline scolded when she heard.

"He's gone?" Tybalt beamed "Excellent!"

"Shut up, Twatbalt! This is bad"

"Don't call me Twatbalt!" Tybalt looked hurt for a moment as Rosaline glared at him "Why's it bad Mercutio is gone?"

"Because Angelo's witness is gone" replied Rosaline "Even Gabriel can work that out"

"Why can't you just leave it all to him for once" grumbled Tybalt, shovelling cereal in his mouth.

"I already have" said Rosaline softly.

"Eh?"

"Never mind" Rosaline shook her head, folding her arms around herself.

That day had been the day Angelo went for his first session of radiotherapy. Rosaline winced now, wondering what kind of pain he must be in. She hated herself for not being able to deal with it. Instead, she concentrated on folding her clothes and putting them in the suitcase. Tybalt snored in bed. Rosaline felt like putting on her stilettos and kicking him for the hell of it, but decided not too.

Instead she shook him "Wake up!"

"Uhhh" moaned Tybalt.

"Get up!" Rosaline shook him harder.

"Don't want to!" he grumbled.

"Get up now! You're coming out with me"

"Where?" Tybalt looked at her, his grey eyes filled with sleep.

"Out!"

Groaning, Tybalt lifted himself out of bed and into the bathroom. Rosaline left him to it. Downstairs, Hermia was entertaining Eliseo by chasing him around on the rug. That little flea Benvolio was scuttling around, grabbing bits and pieces and packing like she was. Romeo the worm was also here, and he was sitting on the sofa with Juliet like he owned the place.

_'You're not Lady Capulet's consort yet!' _Rosaline thought furiously.

"Is Tybalt still asleep?" asked Lord Capulet, skulking down the stairs.

"You know he will not rise before twelve" Rosaline replied.

"That lazy cat!" Lord Capulet shook his head.

Tybalt staggered downstairs half-asleep. Hermia looked up and grinned, opening her mouth to say something. Rosaline grabbed her pink cardigan where she had left it on the sofa, grabbed Tybalt, stepped over Eliseo, and pulled him out before Hermia could wind him up. She dragged him along over to Angelo's mansion. Gabriel would still be there, she knew. He had now come to an arrangement with Rene. As long as his performances were not sloppy in the evenings, and his rehearsals in the afternoons were twice as intense, he could have the morning off to help Angelo. In the afternoons and evenings, whilst Gabriel rehearsed and performed, Angelo looked after Alexei.

Rosaline supposed she ought to make the most of her time with her nephew. She would be returning to university soon, for her final year.

Angelo, Gabriel and Alexei were sitting in the dining room. Snooky the cat was sitting on one of the chairs, lapping at a saucer of milk on the table, and Angelo was glaring at her. Gabriel was giving Alexei a bottle and chattering on about pointe shoes. Angelo looked bored out of his mind.

"Rosaline, sweetie" Angelo beamed, delighted at her rescue from Gabriel's conversation.

"Hello dad. How are you feeling?"

"Fine" lied Angelo "I mean, the first session was rough, but I'm getting used to it. I think I might go back to work soon, to have something to do. I won't lose all my hair, so I still look healthy. And Juno's been putting it out that I fainted from some chemical in the air"

"Probably Tybalt's breath" sniggered Gabriel "Have you brushed your teeth today?"

"Shut up, bitch" grunted Tybalt in reply. Rosaline rolled her eyes. He was such an oaf sometimes. At least she was cleverer than him. When she was Lady Oftmoro, he would just sit at her side and nod, instead of trying to control her, like some consorts tried when their wife was the Lady of a great family.

"I came to talk to Gabriel" said Rosaline.

"Oh, did you?" said Gabriel "What's the matter?"

"In private"

"I can't, I'm feeding Alexei"

"Give him here, I'll look after him" offered Tybalt.

"Oh, hell no!" dismissed Gabriel "I wouldn't trust you with a pet gerbil after what happened to Eliseo. Angelo, could you look after my boy? Come on, Rosaline, we'll go for a walk in the park"

They walked down the road, and passed through a square, before reaching the park. They found a secluded spot, where only a friar sat reading the paper. Rosaline selected a bench across from him where he was hopefully out of earshot and sat down. She turned to Gabriel "I am leaving soon"

"Yes, I know that"

"We have got to find Mercutio and we have got to make him come forward. The election depends on it!"

"I know that too"

"You'll have to do it when I leave"

Annoyance flickered over Gabriel's face "I imagined that would be the case"

"I can't bear seeing Angelo like this"

"Yes, I know"

"But before I go, I'll help you with whatever you need"

"How so?"

"I'll help you make a plan for what to do. We need to figure out what Mercutio wants and what Mercutio loves. That way, when we find him, we'll be able to persuade him into doing what we want. Gabriel, tell me, do you know what Mercutio wants?"

Gabriel looked at her blankly "I have no idea. He's so weird and unpredictable. I offered him the chance to do the flappy dappy dance in the middle of a ballet performance, and he said no"

Rosaline sighed "You know, I think Mercutio is smarter than people give him credit for. By being as weird and unpredictable as possible, he's outsmarted anyone out to manipulate him, or use him in any political plots. No one knows what he wants, so you can't tempt him"

"But we all know what he loves" Gabriel added "He loves Allegra and their kid"

"And his friends. He loves Benvolio, Romeo, Hermia, his godson Eliseo"

"We can't threaten them. That makes us no better than Edouard or Demetrius – have you heard that Edouard's dead?"

"Yes. The whole of Europe knows Edouard's dead. Mercutio and Hermia are hosting a party to celebrate. They're making a cake with Edouard's face on out of icing, and they're going to get that girl Anne to cut it in half. They made the event on Facebook, and called it Edouard's Deadourd, and they invited all the Yorkists. Mercutio would be devastated to miss it" said Rosaline.

"There we go. The party. We can tempt him back with the party" exclaimed Gabriel.

"And when is this party?" asked Rosaline.

"When Richard arrives to take Anne home"

"And when will he be here?"

"I'm not sure. He and his family probably need time to organize England. Maybe in October, a few weeks from now?"

"Then that will be one month before the election" said Rosaline "Assuming we have the luxury of waiting that long, then how would we get him to come to Angelo's defence?"

"And we're back to square one. We don't know what Mercutio wants, we don't know what motives drive him, we can't manipulate him!" Gabriel leapt up and kicked the nearest tree, whilst shouting "Fuck you, Mercutio, for being so clever!"

The friar looked over at them amused. Gabriel sat down meekly.

"And I refuse to kidnap his brat" added Rosaline.

"What about what Mercutio fears?" asked Gabriel "Can we play on his insecurities?"

"That's a bit easier. We know what he fears by the fact he's run off rather than face up to the truth"

"So he fears confrontation"

"Not confrontation. You know how he loves to annoy my Tibby. He fears being torn between us and his family. He knows we are right, and that Angelo is innocent. He has a moral consciousness, as he knows that people like Demetrius and Edouard are evil and deserve to be punished, and that Angelo should be given the benefit of the doubt. But he's scared of upsetting the Montagues. Come on, Gabe, think with me"

"Can we find a way that will make Mercutio clear Angelo's name, but keep the Montagues sweet to him?" asked Gabriel.

"We'd have to turn the Montagues against Isabella. But, they might not do that..."

"Because she's a respected member of their family, and usually known for being reliable and trustworthy, and doing the right thing" said Gabriel.

Rosaline groaned, and then glanced right and left, before leaning over "Do you think our curse will work?"

"I don't know" admitted Gabriel "You should always be careful what you wish for. I wished for someone to love me, and then I got Rose pregnant. Now I'm a single father, dependent on my own father, trying to juggle a ballet career and fatherhood. I cursed Angelo, and now he's sick, and I've seen how vulnerable he truly is, and I wish I'd never done it. We'll have to wait and see"

Rosaline sighed, closing her eyes and leaning back. In the morning light, her golden hair gleamed. She truly was very beautiful. She sat up again and faced him "Right. Who are the weak Montagues?"

"Benvolio"

"Who are the stupid Montagues?"

"Romeo and Beatrix. Oh, and Anthony's pretty dumb, judging from the whole Shylock thing"

"Right. We could try and influence one of them into keeping their family sweet so Mercutio doesn't feel threatened. Idiots like Beatrix and Romeo are easy prey, but useless at thinking like us. Benvolio might be weak and he's clever enough, but manipulating people just doesn't occur to him. He's just too damn nice!"

"Romeo's too impulsive. He couldn't subtly influence someone even if he tried. It's all about big displays of emotion"

"Stupid Montague" cursed Rosaline.

"What's all this about a stupid Montague?" asked Tybalt, walking up to them.

"Nothing, Tibby, we're just plotting" replied Rosaline.

"Oooh, what about?"

"We're making a plan to get Mercutio back to Verona" said Rosaline "And now we're making one so he'll come forward and tell the truth. And anyway, weren't Gabriel and I going to speak in private?"

Tybalt shrugged "I only came because Angelo doesn't want to be late"

Gabriel turned back to Rosaline "How could we manipulate the Montagues? None of them like or trust us. But maybe, Rosaline, we could get someone to infiltrate them. I could see if I could get Juno to work at Montague Ranch as a cleaner or a cook or something. He seems to like Angelo..."

"Is there anyone else who could keep us clear Angelo's name?"

"Well, there's his ex wives" said Gabriel "Your mum, my mum, and his ex fiancé, Mariana"

"The one who did the feature in the magazine about him"

"Yeah, her. Guess where she lives"

"Where?"

"Oftmoro Grange"

"Whore. Squatting in my ancestral house"

Gabriel sniggered "She has some servants and such, but otherwise, she's alone. Shall I have her watched?"

"Yes. I'll get one of my friends from the Burry Estate. They'll be grateful for a job, and they get to have a look at what will be my house. Perhaps she'll know something. And if we meet her, and get on her good side, perhaps we can persuade her to say something nice about Angelo"

"You'll have to do that. She hates me. I'm the reason they broke up"

"Oh, yes. The whole business with the firework up the chimney" Rosaline rolled her eyes.

"Well, I saved Angelo from yet another messy divorce" Gabriel crossed his arms "And anyway, how come is it, that when Mercutio does stuff like that, people call him funny, and yet when I do it, I get called a brat?"

"No idea" Rosaline shook her head "And anyway, I refuse to go anywhere near her, otherwise I'll slap her for living in the Grange, which is rightfully mine"

"All this talk about what's rightfully yours...you sound like Daenerys from Game of Thrones. I will take back what's mine with fire and blood! Shall I call you _Khaleesi_?"

"Very funny" Rosaline rolled her eyes.

"Who am I?" asked Tybalt.

"Khal Drogo!"

"Who?"

"Oh, never mind. Well, we'll have her watched" Gabriel decided "Once we know her strengths and weaknesses, we can play her. Let's go back to Mercutio and the Montagues"

"I have it!" yelled Rosaline triumphantly. Her ice blue eyes lit up.

"What?"

"We're the Capulets, and we have our allies. We have two of our ranks in with the Montagues. Hermia and Juliet, not to mention Allegra, who's with Mercutio himself, who is who we need"

"You want to get Hermia and Juliet to betray the Montagues?" scoffed Tybalt "No way! Hermia's been the Montague's whore for years now"

"And Hermia also happened to have been rescued from Demetrius by Angelo a couple of weeks ago" added Rosaline.

"Which means she is grateful to him and holds a level of respect. As well as that, she is less inclined to believe that he is a perv, since he rescued her from a real one. At the same time, her interests lie with the Montagues, because if Romeo and Juliet don't have any children, the line of succession of who becomes Lord Montague leads to Anthony, to Benvolio, and then eventually Eliseo, even though he's a bastard" finished Gabriel.

"And Hermia will be much more easier to deal with than Mercutio. She wears her heart on her sleeve and she's much more of an open book. And anyway, she'll think we're acting in everybody's best interests. Which we are, of course"

"And Mercutio trusts her. She was the first person he came to. And she knows Angelo didn't do it"

Tybalt stood, listening to the plots bat between his wife and brother-in-law.

"And I believe this is what she wants anyway. Hermia has a good moral conscience. She doesn't want innocent people in trouble. We just need to...poke her"

"We've got to make the Montagues think that the problem is Isabella, like how Amparo is making everyone think that the problem is Angelo, not her political party" said Gabriel.

"We've got to outcast her from the family, so they'll doubt her. Then Mercutio will be unafraid to come forward" said Rosaline.

"How long will it take?" asked Gabriel.

"It had better be quick"

"It had better be"

"It can be done"

"All right. You start off now, with Hermia, and I'll take Angelo to hospital. Will you look after Alexei for me?"

"I hate kids"

"But Hermia loves them" Gabriel grinned.

"Good plan"

They hurried back to Angelo's mansion. Rosaline left, arm in arm with Tybalt, pushing Alexei in his pram. In the distance, she could hear Angelo and Gabriel bickering.

"I'm not letting you drive this time, you swerve all over the road!"

"I do not! And let me see you drive better. You're in pain and you can never do anything when you're in pain. I need to drive so you can rest"

"Oh, I'll bloody well be resting for all eternity if you carry on driving like a maniac!"

"You and Gabriel are scary when you do that" stated Tybalt.

"What? We know how to plot these things. I think Gabriel knows more about what Isabella is up to than he's letting on, and I think Amparo is involved a lot more than he makes out. But, if they can screw Angelo over, we can screw them over back"

Tybalt looked thoughtful for a moment, which was a look he didn't wear often.

"So, once you've proved Angelo is innocent, then what will you do?"

"Well, he'll carry on living his life. Everyone will forget this. He can go back to work and being Deputy without people sniggering at him"

"Yes, but he has cancer. He can't work right now. He needs to rest"

"He wants to work. He wants to carry on as normal"

"Being Deputy is very stressful. If I was ill I wouldn't want to do that job. Hell no. And even if he wants to do it, can he still do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"People are saying he's lost his flair for the job. He might have been the right person for the job five years ago, but now..."

"So you're saying he's a bad Deputy"

"No!"

"Then what do you mean?"

"I'm saying" Tybalt hesitated "He's a good man, and he could do a good job, but it's different to how it was when he became Deputy. We weren't in recession then. I know you want to clear his name, and he deserves to have his name cleared, but what will happen afterwards? It's not just about Angelo, it's about the future of Verona. I don't want Vincent in power, because you'll lose your investments, and you won't get to restore your family. And I know how much it means to you"

"Well," said Rosaline "I suppose that'll be for Angelo to decide"

* * *

"He's gorgeous" stated Hermia, letting Alexei clasp her finger.

"He does look like Gabriel" agreed Juliet. Anne giggled as Alexei let go of Hermia's finger and grabbed her coppery brown hair. Eliseo crawled over Hermia and Anne to have a look.

"Baby!" he announced proudly.

"That's right" said Hermia "Say, hello Alexei"

"Hello Lexi!" Eliseo reached over and patted the baby on the head. Alexei opened his eyes and blinked. The girls cooed.

"Is Gabriel good with him?"

"He's great with him. He loves him to pieces" said Rosaline "I think it's so sweet. Finally Gabriel has someone to love and love him back unconditionally"

"I do feel sad for him, what with everything that's been going on. I can't believe Rose didn't want him" said Hermia.

Rosaline sighed "Gabriel calls her the CAB, the Child Abandoning Bitch"

"Oh, he would" Juliet snorted.

"Rose is Gabriel ex girlfriend" explained Hermia to Anne "She is Alexei mum, but she want not him"

"That's terrible!" cried Anne "When you think about my sister...she'd do anything to have her baby with her! Anything!"

Rosaline felt she was the only who sympathesized with Rose and agreed that bringing up a child at such a young age was a stupid thing to do. But she needed to stay in Hermia and Juliet's good books, if this plan was to work, and so she changed the topic.

"Gabriel's living with Angelo again" Rosaline said casually.

"Angelo?"

"Yeah. They're making up, I think. I hope" Rosaline gently stroked Alexei's downy blond hair "It'll be so nice...just to have...a normal family"

The two ginger sisters looked at Rosaline incredulously.

"Gabriel was so upset when he heard about what happened with Isabella. We've all been devastated. We don't know who to believe, who to trust" Rosaline put a sad quaver to her voice "And then...when we found out...that Angelo h-had..._cancer_, we-"

"He has cancer!" gasped the girls.

"Yes" nodded Rosaline "That's what I was crying about the other night. My poor dad. I can't imagine how you'd deal with it, if that happened to Uncle Egues..."

The girls just looked from one to another.

Rosaline looked at Alexei, and gently bounced him "Poor Grandpa, eh, Alexei? Being accused of something he didn't do, and then getting cancer"

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Hermia.

Rosaline looked at her "Oh, yes"

* * *

_A month later..._

"So let me get this right. At the weekend, you're having a party to celebrate Prince Edouard being dead?" gaped Lord Montague "That's horrible!"

"He deserved it!" argued Romeo.

"That doesn't mean, have a party!" scolded Lord Montague.

"Yeah, it does" added Hermia "He was vile and cruel, and he treated poor Anne horribly. He killed her kitten and then gloated about it. He bullied Henry Tudor, by holding him by his legs over a banister upside down, and-"

"Is Tudor coming to the party?" asked Juliet.

"Of course! He hated that Lancaster brat"

"Even though he's twelve and in exile in Brittany with his Uncle?"

"Tudor will find a way to get what he wants"

"And Mercutio is singing some songs from the musical he's been writing" beamed Romeo "He's written a musical to commemorate Edouard's life. I like 'Naughty Prince'"

Benvolio sighed, and turned to see Eliseo throw bread out of his highchair.

"Eliseo, eat the bread"

"No!"

"Come on, it's your dinner"

"No!" Eliseo snapped, chucking bread at Benvolio.

Hermia giggled "He's going through the Terrible Twos a couple of months early"

"Want play" sulked Eliseo.

"It's dinner time" said Benvolio.

"No!" Eliseo banged his fist on the table.

"I saw Gabriel's son the other day" said Hermia.

"Did you? What's he like? As horrible as his father?" asked Anthony.

"No. He's a little sweetheart" Hermia shook her head "I feel bad for him. He's got Gabe for a dad, a cow who abandoned him for a mum, and poor Angelo for a grandfather"

"Why is Angelo poor? He's a perv" stated Isabella, without a hint of hesitation.

"Angelo has cancer" said Hermia.

"Cancer?" repeated Lady Montague.

"Yes. He hasn't told anyone, but Rosaline told us. Don't repeat this. He's having this horrible treatment with all these horrible side effects, like you know, erectile dysfunction"

"Hermia, not at the table!" moaned Juliet.

"Imagine that though!" Hermia said loudly, looking at Isabella "Not being able to have sex! And before that, he was, you know, having trouble with the plumbing. Rosaline tells me sex was the last thing on his mind"

"Hermia..." winced Benvolio.

"What?"

"We're having sausages tonight!"

"Oops. Sorry guys"


	27. Edouard's Deadouard!

Well, here it is! The party we've all been waiting for! Edouard's Deadourd! However, Juliet, playing the sweet and innocent card, manages to find out something interesting. The musical Mercutio decides to write is borrowed heavily from Chris Lilley's, Mr G, the Musical, from Summer Heights High. I imagine Mercutio would love that show. And this chapter is also dedicated to RichardIII1955 - I know how much this will make you laugh!

* * *

"Paulina?" asked Juliet, peering around the corner. Lady Montague was lecturing her servants on how to properly fold the tablecloth. Juliet had known Romeo's mum for several years now since the Child Swap experiment, and was fond of her sharp tongue and sharp wit.

"Yes, Juliet?"

"I'm sorry about how rude Hermia was at dinner. You know what she's like"

"I do know what she's like. I've heard enough of Mercutio's reports on the antics of his and his friends. It seems to be she's always in the thick of it"

"She is" admitted Juliet "She loves anything...bawdy, shall we say"

"There is something troubling you"

"There is"

"Well, there's only us here. Out with it"

"I can't help but feel that there was truth in what Hermia was saying, even though she was being...rude" Juliet cringed "The past few weeks, I have been seeing and hearing some strange things, all somehow linked to Angelo, and the coming election. Gabriel and Rosaline are up to something. They were acting weirdly"

"How so?"

Juliet omitted Gabriel and Rosaline's 'curse' as it was likely to offend Paulina's Christian beliefs.

"To begin with, Gabriel and Angelo are getting on with each other. They normally hate one another. And Rosaline hates children, and yet the other day she was looking after Gabriel's son, Alexei, and showing him off to us. She knows we're – Hermia and I – are fond of children, and said a few things that made sense at the time, as we were relaxed and playing with Alexei, that now seem all so suspicious. It's all part of this bigger picture that I need help piecing together"

"Tell me"

"I know I must sound mean, but, is Isabella telling the truth? There was this awful row at Capulet Manor, with Rosaline running home soaking wet, Mercutio barging in, then Gabriel barging in, and they were all yelling accusations at one another. It seemed to do with Mercutio witnessing something that involved Angelo and Isabella. I'm worried something bad is going to happen to our families"

Paulina led her outside, where absolutely no one could hear them. As it was October, and growing cold, the rest of the Montague family were huddled indoors.

"I trust you will keep your tongue on the matter" stated Paulina.

"Of course. I only want to keep my family safe, and yours"

"Just as I would expect of a sweet young girl like you. It grieves me to say that some of what you are saying is true. I have to admit, that the Montague family is not what it was"

"What do you mean?"

"The power of old nobility is fading. It's all about new money these days. Have you ever read _The Great Gatesby_?"

"Yes"

"New money, in the hands of businessmen, singers, investors, is having an increasing amount of power, whilst the old nobility is in decline. Look at the Oftmoros. Their money and savings went down the drain because they couldn't afford to live like Lords anymore. Claudio and I are scared things may go the same way"

"You mean you're bankrupt?" gaped Juliet.

"No!" laughed Paulina "Not at all. But I'm worried. Look at Anthony, and see what an idiotic oaf he became. He went backrupt. I don't intend for that to happen to the rest of us. Claudio has brains enough to keep our family going, but look who's next"

"Romeo? But Romeo's not stupid!"

"I'm his mother, and I can say what I like about him. Romeo likes poetry and songs, not accounts and business, or politics and intrigue" said Paulina firmly.

"Benvolio's clever. Benvolio could help him. _I_ could help him!"

"Clever as Benvolio is, he's just not cold-hearted enough for business or politics. Oh, he can count above ten and read a thousand books, but he'd never be a good Lord. And Beatrix...I don't need to explain about Beatrix. She's so stupid, she didn't realise she was reading _Game of Thrones _when Mercutio thought to switch the dust jacket with one from a copy of _Twilight_ until she came across the incredibly difficult word known as because"

"What's this got to do with anything?"

"If we want our family to survive, we need to have a conservative party leading Verona. We need a conservative Deputy. Not a liberal like Angelo, who believed in giving power to people like the bankers, traders, singers, dancers, the new money, and spreading out the division of wealth across all the social classes. We need a party who will leave power in the hands of the old nobility, us, so that for the next generation, Romeo will be able to keep our family and lordship alive"

"So you want Angelo...gone" Juliet blinked.

"Yes. Gone" said Paulina "It's a good job what a prat of himself he's made over the past few years. Oh, but when Isabella and Amparo thought it all up, and muttered a few things to Claudio, who told me a few things in turn, I warned him. This could backfire, you know, I said, and then what will our chivalrous son do? But, he said to trust in Isabella"

"But I don't understand. Why would you want Angelo gone, but support Amparo?"

"Vincent is a nutter. Even I admit it. I might have religious views and principles that are important to me, but they're important to _me_. No one else. It doesn't mean everyone else should follow my rules that I set myself. But Vincent thinks that because he'll be in charge, everyone should follow his bloody views. I don't want him in charge, even if he'll hand power back to the nobility, because he'll make life a living hell for anyone who's not a white middle class male Christian. Amparo agreed to a compromise, and so in her, we place our support"

"I see. I agree. I like her too. But why...why is Angelo being treated like this?" Juliet asked, her blue eyes shining with innocence. "Why haven't you just...pushed him down the stairs?"

"It's what Isabella proposed to do. It's what Amparo agreed to help her do"

"But it's so mean!"

"It's in your best interests, sweetling. One day, you'll be the Lady of a great family, whose power lies in their birthright and lineage. Oh believe me, I warned my husband, but he didn't listen. He just said 'Don't you want to see our son great?' He knows he won't be here to see Romeo be Lord, but he thinks that I might. And, I am a mother. What can I do? See the thing through. Of course I want my baby to have every success, even if he an impulsive idiot even at the best of times"

"Oh" said Juliet. She tucked a long strand of red hair behind her ear "That makes sense. So, you want Angelo out of politics, because his policies mean power is being derived to the new money, and you want Amparo in charge because she has promised not to do that, because you'll lend your support to her campaign. So Isabella and Amparo decided to frame him"

"That's right" Paulina gently helped Juliet pat her long hair into place, as it skittered about in the autumn wind "I know it's cruel, but that's the way the world works. Sometimes we have to...do away...with people. It's for the greater good"

She gently kissed Juliet's forehead.

"Everything Isabella has done is for the good of our family. And yours. We'll all be one great family together in a few years"

Juliet inhaled the scent of Paulina's perfume as she hugged her, and her blue eyes gazed off into the distance. She had a lot to tell Hermia.

And Hermia would have a lot to tell Rosaline.

* * *

"So you're saying my aunt could be lying?" asked Benvolio.

"Yes" said Hermia.

"But why would she do that?"

"Politics?"

"It's not like her at all...she's usually so...moral"

"But I don't think Angelo would have harassed her for sex at all. Look at the facts. At the time, he was having man trouble. I've had sex with lots of men and I know what they're like. When a man is having man trouble, the last thing he wants to do is have sex!"

Benvolio looked at her strangely. It sometimes unnerved him at how worldly she was.

"And he helped me when Demetrius was hassling me. Why would he do that if he was a perv?"

"Well, what shall I do?" asked Benvolio.

"I need you to keep your family sweet. Talk Romeo around. The only person who can prove that Angelo is innocent is Mercutio"

"Mercutio?!"

"Yeah. Our crazy Wooshy-wo. He was outside when it happened and heard every word"

"Then why won't he say?"

"Because he's afraid of what your family might do to him" said Hermia honestly "He loves you lot like his second family, and doesn't want to be seen to betray you. Look how unfair this is on Rosaline and Gabriel, having to deal with their dad having cancer, and be unjustly accused of being a perv. And I know we don't like them so much, but think of little Alexei. He's a few months old and he hasn't ever done anything wrong. Give him a chance to have a somewhat normal family"

Poor Alexei. He hadn't had a lot of luck in his short little life.

"Well, look, we have the party at the weekend. You can talk to Mercutio then. Then we'll all go back to Venice and forget about this"

* * *

"EDOUARD'S DEAD! EDOUARD'S DEAD!" chanted the guests "ANNE'S A WIDOW! ANNE'S A WIDOW!"

"Did you really kill him?" asked Gabriel.

"No!" cried Richard "It was George and his cronies"

"You don't have to lie. I wouldn't have blamed you if you did" Gabriel smiled coyly at him. Richard looked horrified. Gabriel caught sight of Mercutio, and stood up "See you later, Dickon"

"He's so..." Richard muttered to himself "Socially retarded!"

He glanced around the room. Everyone was dancing like crazy. It was loud, and noisy, like the battleground. Suddenly, Richard was there again, with the bullets whistling past him. His friends dropped down around him. The machine guns buzzed. Ned was yelling his battle cries. Men groaned from their wounds and the stench of death clung to the air like a foul perfume...

Richard was distracted from his horrific memories by the sight of Henry Tudor downing a bottle of Vodka. The kid was no more than twelve, and he was drinking like a fish!

"Put that down!" Richard marched over and snatched the bottle away "You're twelve! You shouldn't be drinking!"

"I'm celebrating!" slurred the boy.

"Celebrating what?"

"Edouard's dead, you moron!" Henry giggled.

"I thought he was your cousin..." frowned Richard.

"He is, I mean, was my cousin" Henry grinned "And I didn't like him. And now he's dead, and Uncle Harry's probably dead too, _I'm_ the Lancaster heir"

"You? An alcoholic cross-dressing twelve year old?"

"Shut up!" Henry yelled "You might want to watch your back! Oops, wait, I meant, _hunchback_"

"You might want to watch that potty mouth of yours" warned Richard "Otherwise I'll remind my brother, _the king_, of your Lancastrian heritage, and he'll have you locked in the Tower before you can call me another foul name"

"Hunchback!" taunted Henry.

"Or perhaps I might put the dress back on you, and parade you through the streets of London, so that everyone can point and laugh at you!"

"You bitch!" shrieked Henry.

"Just go to bed" sighed Richard. Henry stomped off, muttering something like 'I'll stab your dead body in the buttocks' and 'I'll bury you under a car park and make everyone hate you' but Richard paid no heed. What could a twelve year old brat do to him? He had much more pressing matters to attend to. And her name was Anne.

Mercutio was whirling around to his favourite tunes like a maniac and shaking his booty. He was wearing a gorilla suit and in his opinion, he looked really sexy. Anne seemed to be enjoying herself, and had already sliced in half a cake with Edouard's face on it. Mercutio himself had then smashed his face in the cake several times and chucked bits of it around the room. There was some on the ceiling and some on the walls, much to everyone's amusement.

_'Freak. Allegra deserves better'_

Paris' words rung in his mind. Mercutio stopped dancing.

_'Freak'_

He wasn't really a freak, was he? He just liked making people laugh, and letting himself let go. He didn't see why people had to be bound by silly social laws. Mercutio felt like there was so much character, so much life, so much energy within him, he just had to let it out. That wasn't a crime, was it?

_'Allegra deserves better'_

Did Allegra deserve better? Allegra was the most wonderful person in his life. Was he good enough for her? A nutjob who sometimes put his own dinner on his head?

"Mercutio" interrupted Gabriel.

Mercutio spun around "Gabe the Babe! Woo!"

"Don't call me Gabe!" barked Gabriel "I have a bone to pick with you"

"Well, where is it?" asked Mercutio, pretending to look around.

Gabriel sighed, looking irritated. When Mercutio looked at Gabriel, sometimes he saw a version of himself gone wrong. Gabriel was also silly and sometimes immature, yet he had no friends and no one liked him. So then, however stupidly Mercutio behaved, surely he was doing something right?

"I understand this is a difficult position for you, and trust me, I am in a difficult position too" Gabriel began.

Mercutio raised his eyebrows "I know, I don't like doggy style either. Allegra's smaller than me, so-"

"What?!" shrieked Gabriel "I wasn't talking about that! I don't want to hear about that!"

Mercutio giggled "Well, anyway, I have a proposition for you"

"What?" Gabriel frowned.

"If the old ballet career doesn't work out, how would you like to be the star of my show?"

Gabriel frowned again "What show?"

"Edouard: The Musical" said Mercutio.

"That thing you've been writing for the past couple of weeks? I saw you posted some songs on Facebook. I liked 'Naughty Prince' What's the whole thing about?"

"It's a musical, about the life of Edouard of Lancaster. From birth to death, and then his legacy. I'm playing Grandpapa Hal, as a ghost, obviously, since he's dead, and I narrate the thing. Romeo will be Harry, my son, and Edouard's dad. Henry Tudor said he'd play himself, and he'll be singing a few solos. But the thing is, we need an Edouard..."

"You want me to play Edouard?" gasped Gabriel "Who's playing Margaret?"

"Hermia is. We still need an Anne, since she said she's not going to play herself. Spoilsport. Oh, and if you want me to pitch a few songs to you, I can. I was hoping we could perform 'Naughty Prince' and 'This Time You're Dead' tonight to Richard and Anne before they bugger off back to England"

"Much as I'd love to, I actually wanted to discuss a different matter" said Gabriel.

"Oh ok"

"My father Angelo..."

"Mercutio! Sing 'Naughty Prince!'" shouted Romeo.

"Not now!"

"Is he going to be Edouard?" asked Romeo, pointing at Gabriel.

Gabriel suddenly smiled "I'll be Edouard if you'll agree to what I'm about to ask you"

"What?"

"Will you come forward, and tell the public that Isabella Montague is a liar, and my father would never sexually harass anyone?" said Gabriel loudly. There were a few gasps around the room, and the music cut out.

"What?" frowned Romeo "My aunt wouldn't lie about that!"

"Well, she has. Tell him, Mercutio" insisted Gabriel, colour rising in his cheeks.

Mercutio glanced from his best friend, to the spoilt brat who had stolen Benvolio's girlfriend all those years ago. Who did he pick?

He was saved when the door banged open.

"Dickon!" yelled King Edward.

"Ned?" gaped Richard "What are you doing in Italy?"

"Someone said there was going to be a party" beamed Edward, sitting down between him and Anne, and grabbing a can of drink "So I got a plane. Now I'm here. Don't tell Elizabeth, though. She thinking I'm on a fishing trip with Hastings in the Lake District"

"Mercutio, sing 'Naughty Prince!' Ned will love it!" exclaimed Hermia.

"Gabriel, will you be my Edouard?" pleaded Mercutio.

"Fine. But you better tell the truth afterwards, or there will be hell to pay" retorted Gabriel. Mercutio showed him the lyrics sheet, and whispered to him what he had to do, and then they pushed a table into the living room, cleared it of everything, and set up. Mercutio already had the backing track on his ipod, and the Capulets had microphones for their DJ booth that Mercutio, Gabriel, and Henry would use.

"Mercutio and Gabriel sing song" said Hermia, in English, to Edward, Richard, and Anne "Name is 'Naughty Prince' from Mercutio musical, Edouard: The Musical. Mercutio is King Hal, Gabriel is Edouard, Tudor is Tudor, and I play Margaret"

"Edouard the what?" Edward frowned.

"Musical" repeated Anne "Mercutio has written a musical about him"

"But Hal's been dead for years now..." said Edward.

"I know, it sucks" Hermia sighed "That is why Merc is ghost"

Promptly, Mercutio pulled a white sheet over his head, with Hal's face scrawled on. Mercutio stuck his ipod into a cable, and club music began to play.

"Tewkesbury! Tewkesbury! T-t-t-t-Tewkesbury!" sang the backing track.

"He's a naughty prince with a, bad habit, bad habit for crime! He's a bratty prince with a, bad habit, bad habit for crime!" sang Mercutio, floating around the table flapping the white sheet.

"My name is Edouard. Some Yorkists call me a brat. And I've a dirty habit for murdering cats!" sang Gabriel, dancing on the table.

Henry Tudor climbed on the table holding a water gun.

"Give me it. I want to kill King Edward really bad!" demanded Gabriel.

"No! Edouard! Don't annoy the Yorkists!" said Henry.

"It's too late, Tudor" said Gabriel, grabbing the water gun. He turned to the guests and sprayed.

"Nooooo!" wailed Henry.

"He's a naughty prince with a, bad habit, bad habit for crime! He's a bratty prince with a, bad habit, bad habit for crime!" sang Mercutio. The music slowed, and Mercutio sang softly "He's a brat and he knows it. He wants to creep on the girls. He can't help being a perv on a Saturday night. He can't help being a brat on a Saturday night!"

The song finished. The person playing Clarence leapt on the table and shot Gabriel with a water gun. Gabriel screamed and fell over, pretending to be dead.

"Ahhh! Edouard! Edouard is dead! The Yorks have killed him!" screamed Hermia, running forwards and pretending to be Margaret.

"Oh my God, Edouard! He's been killed by Clarence and his cronies! He's dead!" exclaimed Henry, feigning sorrow. He and Hermia bent down by Gabriel.

"Edouard, you lost the battle of Tewkesbury. The House of Lancaster is finished!"

"Oh Edouard. Why were you such a cunt to Anne? It's your own fault you're dead for being such a prat" stated Henry.

"Everything ends in sadness, fulfilling all your fears" sang Hermia.

"What goes around, comes around" sang Henry "As your life ends, mine begins"

"But you don't have to worry" Hermia and Henry sang together "Because you're not here right now. And England is bad, bad place. And we wonder why or how"

"Oh, Edouard" Hermia sang, stroking Gabriel's hair.

"Oh, Prince Prat" Henry rolled his eyes.

"Those damn Yorks, your stupidity. You look just like, you did in your bed. Except this time you're dead! Except this time you're dead! Oh, Edouard..."

"Oh, Prince Prat..."

"Edouard..."

"Prince Prat!"

"Wooo! Encore!" shouted King Edward. Anne was openly laughing, and even Richard was giggling helplessly. Gabriel climbed up, kneeling on the table, and Mercutio pulled the ghost costume off of his head.

"We haven't even sang any of the good songs yet" Henry hopped up and down "Can I sing 'T is for Tudor?'"

"Not yet, Henry" said Gabriel into the microphone. He looked around the room. All of the people he'd gone to school with were here. All of the Capulets, and all of the Montagues. King Edward sat smiling on the sofa, ruffling Richard's hair and teasing and embarrassing him in front of Anne. Even Rosaline was here, and she was watching him beadily.

"Mercutio has something he would like to tell you all" announced Gabriel, knowing that he was taking a big risk. He stood upright "On the day that Isabella Montague accused my father, who is currently suffering from cancer and has been a closeted bisexual for the past thirty years because he is so terrified of what evil judgemental fundamentalists will do to him, Mercutio was standing outside, and heard everything. Now tell them. Tell them all, Mercutio!"

Everyone turned and looked at Mercutio.

"Angelo's a faggot?" whispered Tybalt to Rosaline.

"Don't call him that!" she hissed back furiously.

"Tell them!" cried Gabriel hysterically.

"I..." Mercutio was lost for words. For once.

"He's lying" Romeo accused "My aunty would never do that!"

"Yes, she has!" snapped Gabriel "I heard her plotting it all with Amparo!"

"No, that's a mistake" said Romeo "Isabella was helping Amparo with ideas for the party manifesto. Amparo wanted a mix between conservatism and liberalism to appeal to everyone. She told me"

"That was the cover. They want Angelo out so that Amparo can be Deputy"

"Why are you defending him all of a sudden?" asked Mercutio "You hate him!"

"I don't hate him anymore" Tears were starting to well up behind Gabriel's eyes "I understand him now. I want us to get along and know each other. I don't want us to be like poor mad Holy Harry and Prince Prat. And Angelo might be a douche, but he doesn't deserve this. No man deserves to be falsely accused of that kind of crime. There are millions of men out there, like Edouard, who perv on people and get away with it, who deserve to be locked up, but they never are. We should be trying to catch them and punish them, rather than lie and use that label to get some man who we don't like out of the way. Listen to me, please. Believe me. I know you think I'm a brat and a bitch, but I know this is wrong. Mercutio, please. I know you love your friends, and I envy you for having that kind of love, but you know better than this. This is unfair on so many levels"

Something inside of Mercutio snapped. It was time to be mature. He'd felt something similar when Micro was born. There were times to be silly, and let all his mad energy out, and there were times to be mature and do the right thing. And there were ways to let all his mad energy out without freaking people out and scaring them. He didn't need to flash Helena and Rose and chase them down the halls of the palace singing 'Milkshake' He could make comedy shows, like the pantomime, and entertain people for a living.

Romeo would hate him now, but he would understand later. Benvolio would understand, and if he didn't, then Hermia would talk to him. Allegra was always on his side, and she would listen. She smiled at him now. He knew she cared and supported him, no matter what he did.

"All right" Mercutio grabbed the microphone, and stood on the table. He towered above Gabriel, who he realised, was not much taller than Hermia "I have something I want to say to you all. I was outside the whole time, and I heard everything. I'd spent the morning being silly, yelling boo at people, and chucking papers out the window. I hid behind a plant pot outside of Angelo's office, and listened to him and Isabella talking. Unless talking about your grandson counts as harassment, then Gabriel is right. Angelo is entirely innocent. Isabella is lying. Sorry, Romeo, Benvolio, but she was. I don't know why she was lying, I don't care about politics, but I know Angelo was innocent"

"Thank you" said Gabriel.

* * *

Henry Tudor found him standing on the roof of the Capulet Manor. The party was winding down now. The guests were tired, and the food and alcohol had been drunk and eaten. Far away in the east, a thin line of royal blue was stretching up into the inky black sky. The stars were twinkling, but slowly dimming.

"My head is starting to hurt" the child complained.

"You'll get used to it" replied Gabriel.

"I came up for some fresh air. You should see 'KingNed04' as he likes to call himself on Twitter. He's lying on the floor with a bunch of naked girls. And he's married! Everyone calls him a lad, but he doesn't impress me"

"Nor me, although I did like it when he hit Margaret of Anjou in the face with a scone at the wedding"

Henry giggled, and rested his hands on the wall surrounding the rooftop beside Gabriel. Angelo's mansion had a roof top where people could stand as well. Gabriel used to love standing near the edge, feeling the wind on his face, and imaging that he could fly.

"Now that Edouard is dead and Uncle Harry has gone missing, and is probably dead, I'm the Lancaster heir to the throne" stated Henry.

"I know. That's why you're hiding out in Brittany"

"Yes. Mum doesn't trust 'KingNed04' and so she told me to go with Uncle Jasper. I've barely spent any time during my life with her. In fact, I barely know her. I miss her. I don't understand. I don't know her, but I miss her"

"I miss my mum sometimes too" replied Gabriel _'I wonder if Alexei does. Rose carried him inside of her for nine months. He would have heard her voice and felt her warmth. Can a baby miss a mother he's hardly known?'_

"Couldn't you live with yours?"

"No, she left when I was five. I don't know where she is, or why she left. I know I look like her, and I still have the first pair of ballet shoes that she bought for me. I know that she must have loved me, otherwise she'd never have taken me to my first classes" Gabriel ruffled Henry's hair "Your mum loves you. She sent you away so you'd be safe. Bind your time. It'll all be ok"

"I hope so" Henry clenched his fists, sinking his head on the wall "I get so mad, sometimes. They took everything from me. At the time, I was just a little boy. I wasn't a threat. And now they call me names and tease me and wish me dead. What did I do to deserve it? And there's nothing I can do about it either!"

"Sometimes, when I get mad at people, I write things down about them" said Gabriel "I called it my 'Burn Book' I wrote down the names of everyone I hated along with every rumour I'd ever heard about them. It didn't do much apart from make me seem like a brat, but it definitely made me feel better. And, stop me from resorting to violence"

Henry giggled childishly. Gabriel wondered if this was one of the only times when he was allowed to be a kid.

"It's a good idea" The line of royal blue was spreading, and at the bottom was a deep cornflower blue, that was tinted with a little green as it mingled with the sun's rays. Henry spoke again "I'll have to be gone soon. Whilst 'KingNed04' was drunk and staring at boobs, he probably didn't really acknowledge my presence, but once he's awake and sobered up, he'll know. I should leave while I can"

"I'd give you a lift to the airport, but I'm not quite sober yet. And I have to take Angelo to the hospital for his session of radiotherapy. And I want to make sure I've seen Alexei today"

"You're a good dad. And a good son" said Henry, surprising Gabriel "Things will be ok for you too. Angelo's not a pervert. Edouard was a pervert. I know one when I see one"

Tudor reached up for Gabriel's hand and squeezed it.

"You're lucky you even have a dad. Mine died before I was born. Look after him, like Edouard never looked after Uncle Harry"

Gabriel held Henry's hand as they both watched the sun come up.


	28. And Everything Falls Out

Cornadopia - Thank you!

RichardIII1955 - Tybalt is indeed a lazy git :-) And thanks so much!

So Mercutio has told the truth at last! But what consequences will it have for him and his friends? And what about Angelo, who was so ceremoniously outed by Gabriel?

* * *

"Come on, wake up" urged Rosaline. Gabriel stirred.

"Not now, it's so early"

"It's eight"

"Then I've only had an hour of sleep!"

"I need to talk to you! Come on, get up. We have to get out of here. We need to plan our next move"

"Fine" Gabriel sat up, and laid his blanket over Tudor, where he slept. He was going to have a raging headache when he woke up. Gabriel had given him some parcetemol and a glass of water, along with some bread, which would hopefully soak up the hangover, but it was a long shot.

They walked through the house. It was silent. All the guests were crashed out. Gabriel rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up. Was that King Edward really surrounded by all those half naked girls? Rosaline shook her head disgustedly. Once they were out of the Manor, Rosaline burst into conversation.

"Hermia and Juliet came to me with some more information. The Montagues were behind this! They are such...pigs! Tybalt was right. We should feud with them until we kill them all"

"Rosaline!" gasped Gabriel.

"What?" snapped Rosaline.

"We'll lose the peace that Escalus has tried so hard to achieve" replied Gabriel "Look at England. Do you want us to be like the Yorkists and Lancasters again?"

"Why not?" hissed Rosaline "They offended and humiliated our family. The Montagues are the enemy!"

"Calm down!" ordered Gabriel "I'd like to hear the full story first, and I doubt the whole of the Montague family were behind this. It's probably just one or two of them with a personal grudge. They're not the enemy"

Rosaline turned to him. Her golden hair gleamed in the sun, and her ice blue eyes were narrowed and catlike "Anyone who isn't us is an enemy"

"Who told you that?"

"Queen Elizabeth and Lady Macbeth"

"Just as I would have thought"

"What's the problem?"

"The problem is where us begins and where us ends"

"Us, means our family!"

"So is that just you and the Oftmoros? Or you, me, Livia, Angelo and Alexei? Your cousins? Your extended family? Because already I can think of a couple of problems with that train of thought"

"I just mean that we should protect our own. We should be out for each other"

"I understand. But if you are talking of feuding then I have to say that if the Capulet vs. Montague feud had gotten anymore ugly than it was beginning too, somebody could have ended up dead. How would you like it if Tybalt got killed whilst having one of his temper tantrums?"

"Which Montague would kill Tybalt, Gabriel? Would Benvolio poke his eye out with his glasses? Or would Beatrix hit him over the head with a copy of _Twilight_? Or, better, would Romeo throw a love poem at him? None of them could hurt Tibby even if they tried. And anyway, we'll be Lord and Lady Oftmoro, not Capulets. We can do what we want. Hermia and Juliet might be engaged to Montagues, but we're not"

"You're not Lady Oftmoro yet. You don't have the Grange"

"No, I don't, and my mother hasn't abdicated yet. But I thought of a plan to get the house. I'm going to tell Juliet that Uncle Tancredo is planning to challenge her to be Lord Capulet after Uncle Egues dies. She'll be grateful to me for this information, as I am on the information concerning our dad. In return, I will ask her for a loan, which I will use to buy the rights to the Grange. I'll kick Mariana out, and then-"

"Rosaline!" Gabriel gasped again "You can't just kick her out!"

"Why not?"

"Because we need to keep her sweet, if we want to win her over to our side. We need friends. We need alliances"

"Of course" said Rosaline sullenly "Anyway, Hermia and Juliet came to me with a very interesting report"

"I'm listening"

Rosaline told him.

"Bloody conservatives" Gabriel cursed "Bloody rich people! Those selfish-"

"I know. And I was right. This whole scheme serves the Montague family, each and every one of them, although it amuses me that they think Romeo is too unintelligent to keep his own family afloat. But why didn't you tell me Amparo was behind this as well?"

Gabriel was silent.

"Gabriel, I asked you-"

"I know" Gabriel sighed sadly "I just...I still love her"

Rosaline rolled her eyes "After she did this?"

"I can't help who I fall in love with!"

"Now you sound like that Montague" Rosaline shook her head "Why else?"

"Verona needs a competent Deputy, one who the people will like, and who people will vote for" replied Gabriel "If we can't get Angelo back to how he was, and if Amparo doesn't get the job, then the only other option is someone in the party who doesn't want it, isn't prepared, and then that runs the risk of letting Vincent's party get in charge. Which we don't want, because he is a woman-hater, a racist, and a homophobe"

"But why should we give Amparo what she wants?"

"I'm not thinking of her, I'm thinking of Verona. She can do a good job, she cares about the people, and the people adore her. It would be selfish of us to kick her out of power, and leave Verona to Vincent's mercy"

"Right you are, I suppose" Rosaline chewed her lip "Ok. Shall we plan our next move?"

"I promised Angelo I would clear his name" said Gabriel "And that is what I intend to do"

"So we'll need to ask Escalus for an appeal against the written warning. And we'll need to make sure it's public, so that the people will see it, see for themselves that he is innocent, and stop shaming him as a pervert"

"And we need to make sure Mariana doesn't sell anymore stories to the press. So we need to keep her sweet. No kicking her out of her house"

"_My_ house"

"Your house, _Khaleesi_"

"Not funny, Joffrey!"

"I'm not Joffrey! Edouard was bloody Joffrey!" Gabriel playfully shoved her "Would you be able to get Hermia and Juliet to come forward?"

"I don't know" shrugged Rosaline "They're loyal to the Montague family, and they need to make sure the Montague inheritance is secure, and the family name clear, because Juliet is engaged to Romeo, who's the heir, and their children will be his heirs, and the Capulet family heirs. And Hermia for the same reasons, because if Juliet doesn't manage to whelp a thousand stinking brats, then Eliseo will become Lord Montague someday. And possibly also Lord Capulet, if Uncle Tancredo will have it"

"And what does Shari say about Lady Mariana in the moated Grange?"

"She says she has not married yet, she has no boyfriend or fiancé, and she rarely receives visitors. She seems very isolated. As for the house itself, it is mainly in good condition, however, Mariana doesn't maintain it very well, and there are several repairs that need to be made. Also, a lot of the land is being uncared for, when it could be used to bring profit and-"

"Ok, enough about the house. We'll deal with that later. I'll help you get it back. We need to sort out Angelo first. So, we have Mercutio. Since I got him to make a very public confession, he can't back down. We've got him, Rosaline. It doesn't matter if we can't get the others. We have Mercutio"

"But remember" said Rosaline "Mercutio is mad. Will anyone believe him?"

* * *

The two siblings made their way back to Angelo's mansion, arm in arm. As they walked, they discussed their favourite fashions for the autumn, and the current situation in England, and some of the hilarious antics from the previous night. They were quite unprepared for what would happen next.

"Why are all these people outside Angelo's house?" frowned Gabriel.

"How come you still call him just Angelo, after all these years?"

"I don't know. I just do" Gabriel shrugged. He caught sight of a sign held by one of the crowd "Oh my God! That is sick!"

Rosaline caught sight of it "They...how dare they!"

As they grew closer, more signs became visible. They all said the same thing. _God hates fags._

Gabriel was the first to lose control.

"How DARE you!" he roared "Get away from my house, you homophobic pigs!"

"Look, there's his kids!" the protesters called out.

"Your father is sick!"

"He's going to hell!"

"No, he is not!" screamed Gabriel, running into the crowd "Liars! There's no such place as hell! Go back to your churches and-"

"Gabriel, don't argue with them! They have no logic. Let's just get in the house!" cried Rosaline.

"They're insulting him!" screeched Gabriel, waving his arms around furiously. He turned back to the protestors "You have no right! Get off of my land! Get out! Piss off!"

Rosaline fought her way through the thongs of people, and grabbed Gabriel.

"They're calling him a pervert again! They're saying that because he's bi, it's no wonder he's a creep! There's nothing wrong with being bi!" shrieked Gabriel.

"It's a sin!"

"No, it's not, it's natural! People are born this way!"

"Don't fight them!" urged Rosaline "Just get to the gates, and we can get in. We'll call security. No, we'll call the police!"

"You have no right to be here!" seethed Gabriel, standing in front of the protesters. He spotted some children, who were even younger than Tudor, holding signs and copying their parents. He was disgusted "How dare they lay..._siege_ to the house like this! My son is in this house! My baby son!"

Rosaline hammered the button on the gate "It's Gabriel and Rosaline. Let us in!"

"We can't open the gates. It will compromise our safety" replied one of the security.

"Then how do you expect me to get in?" Gabriel shouted "And how does Angelo expect to be able to get to hospital today? Shall I climb the walls? Just open the gates a little. Rosaline and I are slim, we can sneak in, and then shut them again"

The gates creaked open. Gabriel squeezed through and Rosaline followed. The crowd surged against them, trying to get in the house as well, but Gabriel and Rosaline pushed them back, and the security guards closed them again. Just before they ran into the safety of the house, Gabriel gave the protesters the finger, and rushed after Rosaline. They yelled and jeered angrily, calling him names. Gabriel felt his blood boil with anger. _They had no right!_

When they got inside, Angelo had closed all the curtains, and was standing in the living room, just glancing through a crack. He held Alexei in one arm. The baby was snuffling, sensing his grandfather's discomfort.

"Did you see that!" Gabriel exploded "How dare they! The sick fucks! I'm going to slap them all!"

"Leave it, Gabriel" sighed Angelo. His voice was thick, as if he had been crying.

* * *

_"You don't understand, I love him! I can't help the way I feel!"_

_"It's not natural, it's dirty!"_

_"It isn't! I promise! I love Michael like I loved all my girlfriends before...more, even. I want to be with him, I want him so much..."_

_"Get out of my house, you dirty little faggot!"_

* * *

"You should call the police. They could turn violent, especially with Gabriel shrieking and shouting at them" advised Rosaline.

* * *

_"It's about time I taught you a lesson!"_

_"No, please, I-"_

_His father Kurk slapped him around the face. Angelo felt himself fall to the floor. His cheek was ringing, and he could feel the blood pounding in his ears. He was too shocked to cry, to protest. His parents left the room, and they left him. His brother Iago simply looked at him. He didn't say a word, but he stalked after his parents. Angelo was alone._

* * *

"I always knew this would happen" Angelo sighed again "Who told them? How did they find out about...my preferences?"

"I told them" mumbled Gabriel.

"You what?" Angelo frowned.

"Last night" Gabriel chewed his lip "But I got you an alibi!"

"You told everyone I'm bi?"

"Yeah. It was an accident! It just came out because I was mad! I was yelling at Mercutio and trying to get him to come forward and say you were innocent. I was defending you!"

Angelo just sighed and shook his head "Well, it was always inevitable. Before I know it, some delinquent is going to shoot me whilst I'm picking up my groceries. With any luck it might even be a quick death, rather than being slowly poisoned by this cancer and this horrible treatment"

"Dad! Don't say that!" cried Rosaline.

"What do we do?" asked Gabriel "How shall I get you to the hospital for treatment? I could run a couple of those cunts over if you want"

"I'll just have to deal with it" Angelo sounded defeated. Alexei squirmed, sensing the bad mood of the family. Angelo rocked him, and then lifted him up and cuddled him.

"Well, no matter what those arseholes are saying, we're on your side, dad" said Rosaline "And I'll defend you"

"Yes, and me!" added Gabriel. He reached out to hug Alexei and Angelo at the same time "You still have us. Alexei loves you, see?"

Angelo kissed Alexei's head and then Gabriel's. He held Rosaline to him, and hugged her as well.

"There might be those dicks outside, but there are lots of LGBT people in Verona who will feel very glad you came out" said Rosaline.

"Perhaps this is your chance to gain your popularity again" Gabriel added "I'll call Juno, and see if he can do something. And I managed to get Mercutio to admit that he didn't hear you harass Isabella. It's not just your word against hers, you have an alibi now"

"And Hermia and Juliet have both told me some interesting tales, regarding the Montague's involvement in this...smear campaign" said Rosaline disgustedly.

"I'm so lucky to have such clever children" Angelo ruffled Gabriel's hair with his free hand "But don't let them have any excuse or reason to say nasty things about you in the press. You do not want these idiots protesting outside your house"

"They already are" retorted Gabriel "And if they try, I'm ready. I don't care what people think of me. It's too late to people-please. I'm a ballet dancer, and I already dance with a male partner. They can come and get me, and I'll bitch-slap them!"

"I'll remove any potential weapons from the house so that Tibby doesn't go crazy" Rosaline shook her head "Thank God we'll be back in Milan soon. Will you be all right alone?"

"We coped fine before" replied Angelo. He bounced Alexei gently "Right. I think we better face the music"

* * *

Gabriel managed to get past the horrible protestors by shooting down the drive way at an astonishing speed. Angelo whimpered in horror as he smashed down a sign and then reversed over it several times. The gates slammed shut, almost trapping one of the protestors between them. Gabriel honked the horn several times and screamed several insults out the window, before playing horrible loud heavy metal music. Angelo groaned and rolled his eyes at the song choice.

"I'll show them" seethed Gabriel "If I wasn't onstage tonight, I'd be launching fireworks at them, and putting a sign of my own up. How does 'God hates homophobes?' sound?"

"Blasphemous"

"How dare they drag religion into this! They can keep their beliefs to themselves. They're such damn hypocrites! I mean, they're abusing you, for being bisexual, yet their own priests molest little kids! What's more disgusting? Two men who love each other and have consensual relations with one another, or a paedophile priest? Urgh! And anyway, being bisexual has nothing to do with your abilities as a politician. I bet some of those people voted for you before"

"Either way, I've lost another chunk of voters"

"No, you've gained some. Some people were complaining you hadn't done enough. Now you're one of them, they'll understand"

"If I'm lucky"

As Angelo had his session of radiotherapy, Gabriel waited outside patiently. They wouldn't let him in case he became radioactive. During Angelo's first treatment, he had gripped Gabriel's hand so tight Gabriel thought he'd break a bone. When they told Gabriel he couldn't come in, Angelo had gone from completely white, to completely grey. Angelo seemed a little more at ease with the treatment now, but still suffered from the side effects. He was bleeding a little from an unpleasant place, and looked puffy. But it was October now, and so he was halfway through his treatment. It would be finished shortly after Angelo's forty eighth birthday, and with any luck, the whole ordeal would be over by the election.

Afternoon rehearsal was interesting, to say the least. Angelo was too paranoid to go home. He didn't admit it, but Gabriel knew. So, instead, Angelo and Alexei both sat in Gabriel's dressing room. The look on Angelo's face at all the make-up Gabriel wore onstage made him want to giggle. He left them both relaxing in his chair, and started to dance.

"No, no, no!" shrieked Rene at boy who played the prince " 'ez all wrong! You no do it right! You are naughty prince!"

Gabriel burst out laughing, thinking of the other naughty prince.

"Vot ez funny?" demanded Rene "My ballet show ez rubbish, ez zat funny?"

"No" giggled Gabriel "Just...naughty prince is funny!"

"I saw you on Youtube!" added one of the other dancers.

"Youtube?" asked Gabriel.

"Yes! You're on Youtube! Mercutio uploaded the whole song, it's so funny!"

The dancer held out his phone and Rene took it. The phone rang out with "He's a naughty prince, with a bad habit, bad habit for crime! He's a bratty prince, with a bad habit, bad habit for crime!"

"Oh, yeah. The musical" giggled Gabriel "I played Edouard, the naughty prince of the song!"

"You're Youtube famous"

"Great"

Even Angelo had seen it by the time Gabriel was finished. He shook his head and sighed. Rene soon turned up outside his dressing room, and gave him a long lecture about not offending royal courts, in case it affected his ballet carer.

"You dance for prince, naughty or nice, not make fun of zem!"

Eventually, Gabriel called Juno and had him take Angelo and Alexei home. With any luck, those protesters might have gone away by then. He danced punishingly that night. He clutched at his prince, pushed him away, twirled him around. At the end of the show, he held the child like he was Alexei, and then set him down gently for bows. His flock of swans followed him onstage. Gabriel couldn't help but feel like his life was like that dance in that moment. Angelo was the prince, and his evil parents were the Queen and von Rothbart. Gabriel was the swan, he was always the swan, he was the freedom Angelo craved. He wasn't sure who everyone else was, but he knew they were there somewhere.

When he got home, Angelo was asleep in his bed, and Alexei was curled up under one arm. His fair hair was growing long and his smooth calm breathing was very different from Angelo's long, laboured breaths. Gabriel thought it best not to disturb them, and so he headed into his own room. Juno was asleep in his bed. Lately, Juno had taken to staying over. Gabriel liked it too. It had been ages since he'd had a friend, and they both loved to giggle together before they went to sleep like they used to when they were both boys.

It was at nights that he most missed Amparo. He thought about her often, the warmth pressed against him, her soft breathing, her wild curly hair tickling his cheek. He found he missed her less when he had company.

Juno roused as Gabriel clamoured in beside him "How was the show?"

"Fine"

"I came to watch you dance one night, before Angelo hired me. You were good, really good"

"Thank you"

"Was it all worth it, in the end?"

"Yes" replied Gabriel "It's my dream come true"

"Even better than doing what the teachers wanted and going to university?"

"Much better. I couldn't bear another three years of being lectured in a classroom, being told how to live my life, and not being able to focus on dancing completely"

"Same. I was so happy when the PR company gave me an apprenticeship. And they were really pleased with me! They said I was a natural, and they gave me to Angelo. It's harder than I expected, especially after what happened earlier"

"I'm sorry about that" sighed Gabriel, hugging his knees "You've been given a nightmare case"

"You seem sad"

"I am" Gabriel admitted. _Sad and lost_.

"Do you want to tell me?"

"I miss Amparo" Gabriel hugged his knees "I never knew how much I'd miss her. I miss having someone on my back, looking after me. Oh, Angelo's nice enough these days, but what I want is..."

"I know" sighed Juno "But let's think positively" he chattered, hoping to distract Gabriel "In a couple of weeks, this could all be over. You'll finish the season in time for Christmas, and then you'll start rehearsals in time for Giselle, which will be the classical ballet show you wanted to do in the first place. You'll make the perfect Loys. And I'll come and see you. Things at home will go back to normal. We can salvage Angelo's reputation. We still have a matter of weeks before the election"

"And by then, his radiotherapy will be finished, and we'll just be waiting to hear the 'All clear,' if, of course, it is all clear. Otherwise it's surgery" Gabriel shuddered.

"It'll be ok" Juno squeezed his hand "People can recover from cancer. Oh, and I've spoken to Escalus. That's what I stuck around tonight for, so I could talk to you. Angelo was tired, and Alexei was tired too, so they went to bed and I stayed up to wait for you. I have drafted a statement for Angelo to give to the press when he's ready, about the whole bisexual thing. The shock will wear off soon, and anyway, this could also give him some support from LGBT groups. They'll understand what it's like, being too afraid to come out. People are compassionate. And, most importantly, I've arranged the appeal against the written warning, and I'm making sure it's in the press, so that people will find out that he is innocent, and that he's not a pervert, and that that Montage bitch is a lying attention-seeker. And lastly, if Angelo is better...then he'll rally his party and they'll win"

"I hope" sighed Gabriel "It's not just about Angelo getting his job back, you know. It's about Verona. The future of Verona. I was explaining this to Rosaline earlier. She's mad at Amparo, you see, and if Angelo ends up resigning, she doesn't see why Amparo should get in power. But, I say that the party needs a competent leader. We can't just think of ourselves and petty little grudges, we have to think about the rest of Verona. We have to think of all the other people involved. Look at England. They couldn't decide who should be king, and now thousands of innocents are dead. I know it's a bit extreme compared to Verona, but you get the picture. If the Democratic Liberals doesn't have a competent leader, they're not going to win. And if Vincent and his party of evil fundamentalist republicans get in power, they'll ruin the whole city, and there will be little Escalus can do to stop it"

"But he's the prince, he can do what he wants!"

"The power of old money, old nobles, is fading. You saw what happened in England. They had a Kingmaker! No one listens to the ruler anymore, just because they're the ruler. It's all about money and power these days, and not necessarily because it's handed to you"

Juno nodded. It amazed Gabriel to the extent that he knew about politics these days. He knew far more than when he had lived with Angelo during his teenage years, and more than when he lived with Amparo. Nowadays, Angelo sat and explained things to him, giving him examples and discussing some of his experiences, rather than yelling at him for being stupid. And Gabriel listened now.

"If Vincent gets in power, we can kiss goodbye to women's rights. We can say goodbye to equal pay, even if they have the same qualifications and do the same job, and they'll cut down all the child care centres and child benefit, so they can't afford to work anyway. This will affect me, not just women, because of Alexei and such. I'm on my own, with him, and I have a demanding job. Rene was only saying how I ought to tour if I want to make my name known. And it won't just affect me, it'll affect Rosaline. Vincent and his republicans will cut down funding for culture and heritage things. Verona is a city that thrives on tourism. And tourism thrives on culture and heritage. Therefore, many of the local businesses are to do with tourism and culture, and many are authentic, family-run businesses. If they lose funding, they won't be able to afford to run anymore, and they'll have to close. If they close, Verona loses tourism, because everyone will think it's a shitty place to come. Rosaline has invested in a lot of them and if Vincent gets in charge, she'll lose her investments"

"Arse" agreed Juno.

"And don't get me started on same-sex rights. I'm such an idiot for outing Angelo. Vincent will come down on him like a tonne of bricks"

"Why would Vincent go down on Angelo? I thought he was a homophobe"

"Juno!"

The boys giggled naughtily.

"I'm glad we're friends again"

"So am I"


	29. And Finally, The Truth

Cornadopia - Poor Angelo! He has always feared that happening.

Well, there are homophobes attacking Angelo's house, Rosaline and Gabriel are concocting plans, Juno is scheming to clear Angelo's name, and Henry Tudor is needs to escape Italy before a hungover Edward IV wakes up.

As well as this, we also meet Gabriel's mother. The name of his younger half-brother, Raiden, is actually Gabriel's original name, and his age, fifteen, was the age Gabriel was at the beginning of Child Swap. I love the name Raiden. I kind of wish Gabe still had it, but it's not Italian enough.

* * *

Romeo wasn't speaking to Mercutio. Mercutio tried not to let it hurt him, and failed. Barely any of the Montagues caught his eyes, let alone spoke to him either. It was just as he had feared. Only Benvolio had stuck by him. Faithful Benny. Well, it was better than nothing.

He had a headache from it all. Mercutio wondered if it was a several day long hangover, from the party, Edouard's Deadouard. They'd partied well into the morning. At nine 'o' clock in the morning, Lord Capulet walked downstairs, and found King Edward sprawled on the floor, surrounded by girls with not many clothes on, Mercutio himself was still wearing the gorilla suit and sleeping on the sofa, Anne and Richard were missing, Romeo was collapsed across the table, Hermia was snoring with her face on the coffee table, Benvolio was silently throwing debris into a black sack, and twelve year old Henry Tudor was running to the airport before either King Edward or the Duke of Gloucester could stop him.

Angelo sat proudly, watching him with dark eyes. Gabriel was seated to his side, and looked smug. Father and son looked so unalike; you'd think Gabriel had been adopted.

"He didn't harass her" sighed Mercutio, after tugging at his messy hair "They made small talk about Angelo's grandkid. I heard every word. Maybe there was something wrong with his body language, but I doubt there's anything flirty involved in talking about your grandson"

Escalus asked him a bunch of questions, and Mercutio answered them all truthfully, without any rude puns. Most people looked at him surprised. Mercutio knew they didn't trust him, because no one could tell when he was being serious and when he was being silly. Only people like Allegra saw the real him, deep on the inside. Mercutio never admitted it to himself, but as much as he enjoyed being crazy, it was also his defence mechanism. No one could hurt him when he was being mad.

He glanced over at Angelo and Gabriel. There was a closeness between them that had never been there before. They smiled at each other, quietly whispered every time someone said something worth discussing, and Gabriel even rested his head on Angelo's shoulder at one point. Mercutio found himself feeling pleased for them. Perhaps forgoing Romeo's friendship and breaking ties with his second family was worth it to heal this relationship.

After all, last year, when Romeo's uncle Anthony had run into trouble with Gabriel's surrogate father, Shylock, Gabriel hadn't hesitated to run to them and warn them of the looming danger. He'd betrayed his old friend for the Montagues, even though they had no cause to love him. He wondered whether Gabriel and Shylock still spoke at all.

"But how do we know that we can trust Mercutio's statement?" asked Amparo, never once losing her cool. She was sitting with Isabella and Lord Montague, who both appeared cool and collected "This statement is coming from a boy who claimed Queen Mab had eaten my documents"

"That was a joke. This isn't!" retorted Mercutio.

"Mercutio, if you are trying to stir up trouble, then it isn't funny" snapped Escalus "The future of my city is at stake here!"

"Who cares about your sodding city, the reputation of my father is at stake here!" shrieked Gabriel.

"Hush" said Angelo.

"Why should we believe you, Mercutio?" asked Amparo.

"Because I don't tell lies!" cried Mercutio.

Why would he lie about his closest friends for a prank? Mercutio had loved them more than his own family for years now, and it had amazed him that they'd even set something up like this. Granted, Isabella had always been one of the colder Montagues, but Lord and Lady Montague had been a second set of parents to him.

Parents. That was why. He'd been speaking to Hermia about this, who had fallen into the same position as him. Lord and Lady Montague didn't believe Romeo was capable of holding the family afloat, and so to prevent the government breaking down the power and wealth of the old families, the old nobility, they had schemed to keep liberals like Angelo out of power.

Really, all it was, was one family out for the other.

And could you hate someone for that?

Mercutio would do anything to keep his own family safe. He acted like an idiot in public to divert media attention off of Micro and Allegra. No one commented on her clothes, no one stalked her around the shops, no one hassled Micro on his way to playgroup, because they were too busy watching Mercutio prance around in drag.

"He doesn't lie" Gabriel added for good measure "He tells stories, but he doesn't lie"

Mercutio appreciated him for that. Despite what a bitch he was, he did tell the truth when he needed too. And, he did, in fact, make a rather good Edouard in the musical.

"Be quiet" Escalus commanded, and Gabriel fell silent. Vincent was here too. Gabriel and Juno had made the appeal as public as possible. They wanted the whole of Verona to know that Angelo was innocent. Whilst Angelo's initial warning had been kept confidential, it had been leaked to the press, and the press, as usual, had blown it out of proportion without knowing the full story or Angelo's side of events. That was why Angelo was now being harassed himself by the press and called names. Rosaline drummed her red nails against her knee, watching with a critical eye.

"I'm twenty years old!" protested Mercutio "I'm not a silly little boy, and I'm not mucking around. I know what I heard!"

"But you are the only eye witness, and not even that" stated Amparo "How do you know you heard what you heard? Are you sure you didn't hear someone else in the room opposite?"

"Well, I doubt Alexei is Lord Capulet's grandson, otherwise I'd be questioning Hermia and Juliet on why the bloody hell they had sex with a gender confused ballerina" retorted Mercutio.

"Oi!" shrieked Gabriel.

"See?" stated Amparo "This is why what he says cannot be trusted. Unless Mercutio has some support for his statements, then I doubt that-"

"He has support" replied Rosaline clearly, sitting up "Mum, Lina, Mariana, you've all been married to or engaged to my dad at one point. You know better than anyone how he treats women. Perhaps you would like to come and support Mercutio's statement"

Gabriel grabbed Rosaline's hair and pulled her over to him "What the hell are you doing? They hate him!"

"No, they don't. You were right. I kept Mariana sweet, and now she's on our side. My mum was easy to talk round. Locating and persuading your mother was the difficult part. She's so like you, it frightens me"

_'Mum. My mother is here' _thought Gabriel _'I will see her again'_

_'She abandoned you, Gabriel' _a voice inside his head retorted, that sounded suspiciously like Angelo's _'Like Rose did to Alexei, she left you'_

He did a double take as soon as he saw her. She had shoulder length platinum blonde hair, deep ocean blue eyes with long lashes, high cheekbones, and curved feminine lips. They were exactly the same height, standing at a modest 5'7, and had the same slender build. Tears started to well up behind his eyes. Gabriel blinked them away furiously.

_'I will not cry. I am not weak. I am not the little boy she abandoned, I am a man. However girly I am, I am a man'_

"Whilst not the most faithful of husbands" Camilla frowned, looking at Lina "Angelo's otherwise conduct towards me was generally respectful. I would not put sexual harassment past him, but I will not deny that he was flirtatious"

"I can agree on that" said Lina.

_'Oh, she sounds just like me. High-pitched, girly...'_

"He was respectful to me, and when I became pregnant with his child, he stood by me, despite the consequences"

_'But _you_ never stuck by the child...'_

"Angelo always made his feelings towards his relationships clear" sighed Mariana sadly "He preferred things to be casual, yet he remained respectful. I was wrong to speak to the press, and I must also add that the press over elaborated on the details. I was still upset at our break-up, when I felt our relationship had been what had allowed him to win the election previously. I wanted to get back at him. I never meant it. I doubt he was as mean as Isabella claimed"

"And I know that although Mercutio can be crazy" interrupted Allegra "He is serious at appropriate times. He wasn't stupid when I gave birth to our son. He didn't behave immaturely whatsoever, although he did try out the gas and air. Mercutio knows very well that now is no laughing matter. So much is at stake here. His friendships, Verona's future, Angelo and his family's future..."

Escalus listened intently to Allegra. She had become the darling of the royal family. There were no girls in the younger generation, besides Princess Sofia, who did not live with them, and so Allegra filled the role of beloved daughter and niece.

"And so as you can clearly see" Rosaline interrupted "Daddy has clearly been the recipient of a smear campaign, which was intended to get him out of power. I also think that he should be given compensation after having to suffer through such foul libel and slander, especially whilst in his weakened physical condition, which I feel the need to repeat to stress the fact that in his weakened physical condition, his interest in sex was minimal"

"What she said" swarmed Gabriel. Angelo sat stiffly between them, no longer looking proud and haughty, but nervous once again.

"This has all been a convincing display, and it has been heartening to see that our very own Deputy is the honourable man we all took him for" said Amparo "But Escalus, I must urge you to press for a decision. The security of our party depends on it, if we wish to win the election, rather than allow a woman-hating homophobe to rule your city"

Vincent interrupted "I am not a homophobe, I abide by the laws of the-"

"Book of Hypocrisy and Lies. Yes, I've heard of it" replied Amparo. Vincent looked stunned. Gabriel snickered. How he loved her...no, no, he didn't!

"I think there's one last person we could ask about this" said Escalus.

"Who?" frowned Amparo.

"Excuse me whilst I fetch Friar Lodowick"

"Fantastic. I've never heard of him" Angelo folded his arms. Then he turned over and hissed at Gabriel and Juno "Why did we have to make this public? I feel like I'm being humiliated!"

"We thought you'd win!" Gabriel hissed back "But because Mercutio is such an idiot, no one is listening to him. And then Rosaline's party trick-"

A friar marched into the room.

"Where is Escalus?" asked Amparo.

"Here" Escalus pulled off the hood "I'm Friar Lodowick. I've been following you around in disguise as a friar for weeks now. I know what you've been up too" he pointed at Amparo "And you two" he pointed at Rosaline and Gabriel.

"Oh no!" cried Tybalt, sitting behind Rosaline "He heard everything! Everything you said! All our plans to get Mercutio to confess, all the stuff we said we were going to do to the Montagues in revenge-"

"Shut UP!" Rosaline quickly covered his mouth as Lord Montague looked over and frowned.

Escalus looked at Mercutio "I believe you, Mercutio"

"Oh my god, did you hear that? He actually believes something I said!" cried Mercutio.

"I know! It's great!" Allegra squeezed his arm.

"I grant Angelo an appeal, on the basis of this new evidence, his lack of interest in sex due to his physical and mental wellbeing at the time of alleged events, our knowledge of his good character. And as for you" Escalus swivelled around, to look at Amparo and the Montagues "I don't know what the hell you were thinking. If the Democratic Liberals lose and I end up having to work with a woman-hating homophobe, I will hold you personally responsible. Do you understand?"

"I'm afraid I do not. What did I do? All I did was look out for the interests of my friend. Isn't that what I am supposed to do?" Amparo pulled a wounded face.

_'Always a good actress. We both were. Maybe that's why we bonded so. We were kindred spirits' _Gabriel thought sadly _'Why did you do it, Amparo? I know you always hated him because I did, but why didn't you wait? Angelo would have led the party for a few more years, and then it would have been your turn. Were you really trying to keep Vincent out, or were you thinking of your own ambition, or of me? Did I drive you to do it? Perhaps it was my fault. Maybe...maybe...I need to think'_

Stealing a glance at Angelo, he noticed his father was smiling slightly, pleased to finally have his name cleared. Tonight, after Gabriel had danced for the crowd, they'd celebrate with a bottle of wine. Perhaps one day, Angelo would watch him dance. The thought filled him with pride and excitement.

_'I am just a little boy, really. Just like Alexei'_

If there was one thing the whole experience had given him, it was his father. Gabriel looked up at the woman who was his mother.

_'And perhaps now I'll have a mother too. I'll have a proper family, like Rosaline wanted. Now I think about it, it's what I always wanted too. We both have that now, I think. She'll be Lady Oftmoro, and Tybalt will be her consort. Angelo will be here, and I'll be there with Alexei, and her mother and our sister will be there too. We might not all be together at the same time, but we'll be there none the less'_

His thoughts turned to Henry Tudor, another motherless and fatherless boy.

_'I hope he'll be all right'_

"Go on" said Angelo, patting his shoulder "I have some stuff to attend to. Go and say hello to your mum. I think you have some catching up to do"

Across the room, Mercutio watched them sadly "Did I do the right thing, Al?" he asked softly.

Allegra stroked back his wild mane of hair from his face "You did the right thing, Merc. I know Romeo is mad at you now, but he'll come round"

Mercutio nodded glumly.

"Don't be so miserable. It's all over now. Want to glue some Euro notes to the floor and film people trying to pick them up?"

Mercutio grinned.

* * *

Well, that was that. Angelo let the room clear. The announcements would be blasted over Twitter, over Facebook, and then the telly, and the newspapers. He was no pervert. He had been stitched up. His radiotherapy would be finished soon. Everything was coming to an end. He could have his job back...

...if he wanted it.

Angelo thought about all the things he had lost in order to become Deputy. Then he thought about all the things he had gained since almost losing it. Now it all made sense, really. He couldn't have one without the other, and so, now, he made his choice.

* * *

"So you really became a dancer. I always knew you had it in you"

Gabriel nodded eagerly "And not just any dancer. The _lead_ dancer. The star of the show"

"Who'd have thought, as I held your hand, and led you up to the classroom, that eventually you'd be here?"

He nodded again "I'd have hardly believed it. Just...one last thing"

"What is it?"

"Why did you leave?" Gabriel struggled to keep the hurt out of his voice. _'I am not a little boy, I'm a man, I won't cry'_

Lina sighed.

"I was eighteen when I left school and started working at the palace as a receptionist. Angelo was the first man who ever looked at me. He wasn't like the boys I'd been out before, he was, well, a man, and I was so young. I fell for him hard. I was nineteen when I married him, and had you. Angelo...wasn't the right man for me. We fell out a lot, especially our ideas to raise you. I said I'd leave and take you with me. Angelo said that no woman would ever steal his children from him again, and that if I left with you, he'd hunt me down and sue for custody. I was twenty four when I left. I didn't know how the world worked. I was frightened of him, so I just...left. It broke my heart"

"I'm nineteen and I have a baby too" retorted Gabriel "I'd never leave him. I'm all he has"

"I have a grandchild?"

"Yes. A grandson, in fact. His name is Alexei. He's four months old. Angelo loves him. He's our world"

"A grandson" Lina repeated "Alexei. What a lovely name. I have something to tell you too"

"What?"

"You have brothers. Two"

"Brothers?"

"I married again" explained Lina "And had two boys. You've got two little brothers. There's Raiden, who's fifteen, and Linton, who's thirteen. They look like us, blonde-haired and blue-eyed"

"So does Alexei"

"Where is his mother?" asked Lina.

"She didn't want him" said Gabriel "She was my ex. I had a one-night-stand with her, and she got pregnant. I'm...well, I'm not a pro-life nut, I believe women should be allowed to make their own choices, but it was my child in question, so I begged her not to abort him and hand him over once he was born. Half of me hoped she'd change her mind, but no. I'm raising Alexei alone"

"And what about that woman you kept gazing at? The one with the sultry dark eyes and handsome features?"

"That's my other ex. We broke up over our differences in how to deal with Angelo. Part of what happened today was my fault"

"I see" said Lina quietly. Gabriel glanced back at the palace. Angelo was carrying a cardboard box of stuff. Some people were following him, and all were trying to ask him questions.

"Excuse me" said Gabriel. He stood up, and ran over "Angelo? What are you doing?"

Angelo grinned "Resigning"

"But you don't have too! You've cleared your name!"

"It's about time I did something for myself. I've spent far too long trying to change myself to make people like me, and it's not working. I've been unhappy for a long time now. So, I've resigned. I lost too much to become Deputy, and gained so much by losing it"

"He's handed in his notice to Escalus and everything" added Juno "After you left. I couldn't persuade him otherwise"

"Well, what will you do now?" asked Gabriel.

"Anything. Anything I want. Soon as I get the all clear, I'm going on holiday"

"But who will win the election?"

"Amparo can" shrugged Angelo "I don't care anymore. If Vincent gets in power, I plan to be long gone from here. And if Amparo's in power, then good for her. Perhaps she's what Verona needs to pull itself up from the ashes. And if she is, then I hope everyone will be happy. I'm not just thinking about myself, I'm thinking about the interests of my party, and the city. They don't want me and I'm not what the city needs anymore. I'm done here"

And with that, Angelo walked towards his car, dumped his bag in the boot, and left the palace.

He did not look back.


	30. Election Day

RichardIII1955 - Exactly! Leave Angelo alone! He's not sinful! And Gabe and Ros are such a pair of plotters...you can tell they're siblings! Gabriel's brothers are quite nice, actually. Shall I introduce them to the story at one point?

So, Angelo has cleared his name! And resigned! What will he do now? Meanwhile, it's election day in Verona! Who will win? Who do the cast vote for?

As a heads up, this is quite a graphic chapter! Not only do two lovers start getting it on with each other in public, there's some violence, and death of a character who deserves it more than perhaps even the 'Naughty Prince' Edouard!

* * *

"We've lost our leader. Our party is a lost cause" whimpered Ralph.

"Not yet" replied Amparo.

"Not yet? There are four weeks until the election! We're going to lose! We don't have a leader, we're unstable, our manifesto makes no sense!" Ralph wailed "I wish I could just resign and walk away like that too"

"Then that makes you a coward" Amparo said firmly "Angelo has left us a lot of mess to clear up. But we can do it. It is not impossible. The first thing we need to do is elect a new leader, who will be acting Deputy for now. Then, we need to reboot the whole campaign. We still have some funds from our sponsors which we can use. In fact, we've got some more money coming in now that we have the support of the Montague family. Without Angelo, we can select a new image. Perhaps, we could appeal to the younger voters?"

"Who shall we elect as leader?" asked Clive.

"We need to hold an election for that" said Ralph.

"Which we do not have time to do" Amparo added "Perhaps, we should continue what we did for the duration of Angelo's sick leave"

"You mean, you'll be Deputy?" Ralph frowned.

"Yes"

"But you're a woman and you're thirty four!"

"Thank you, Ralph. I'd almost forgotten my age and my gender"

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" spluttered Ralph "I just meant, you're young, and there's never been a female Deputy before"

"So why don't we change that? Either way, whether you accept my temporary leadership or not, I will stand for leadership when we have the time to call an election. This is what I want. I have worked all my life for it"

"I'll vote for you" said one of the younger members. Amparo smiled kindly.

"Look, she managed to stop all the royal courts of Europe hating us forever after what Mercutio did during the wedding, and she suggested backing the Yorkist forces in England long before Angelo did, in order to restore peaceful trade, and she's brought us the support of the Capulet family, and the Montague family. They have never supported us before. If anyone can lead us to victory, it's Amparo" stated another member.

"Look at what she did with the orphans. The Burry Estate is calling out for her"

"And at the debate, when Angelo fainted. She took over and won an astonishing victory over Vincent for us, and called him a homophobe, and everyone cheered her!"

"Amparo for leader!"

"Amparo!"

"Amparo!"

Humbled, Amparo stood up, but then two members of the party picked her up and sat her on their shoulders. They cheered again for her. Many of them stood up and cheered some more, clasping her hands to shake them, or patting her on the back. Angelo's old supporters sat defeated in their chairs. Amparo knew this was it. She was the Deputy. She was in power, she was in control. She could win this election. She could make this city thrive and bring happiness to the lives of the people.

So why did she feel so empty?

* * *

And then, finally, several weeks later, it was the Election Day. At polling stations all over the city, citizens came to cast their votes. Had Amparo's campaigning pulled off? She'd been working all day, and often through the night. Some of the results had been promising, and maybe, with just enough luck, they would be able to pull off a small majority victory. Or failing that, a hung parliament, resulting in a coalition with the Verona Socialists.

Either way, anything was better than letting those evil Republicans get in...

Amparo watched the Montagues walk in.

"Now, Beatrix" said Benvolio firmly "This is a polling station. This is where people come to cast their votes for who they want to govern the country"

"Oh, like on the X Factor?"

"No!" groaned Benvolio.

Isabella smiled at her, and cast her vote immediately. Angelo was out of politics, and Isabella would be expecting her to keep her side of the bargain. Maybe it hadn't gone quite the way they had planned. Amparo had no intention of doing so.

She wrapped her smart dark red jacket around herself. It was November, and it was cold, even in the hall.

Angelo himself was here. He had finished his radiotherapy, and since resigning, he looked a lot better. The treatment had taken its effect on his body, and he had gained some weight and some wrinkles and more grey hairs, but he looked less anxious, less tired, and much more carefree. Alexei was in his arms, wrapped up in a pale blue woolen blanket. Amparo felt a pang. She missed that little one. She'd become very fond of him.

Gabriel, the former brat, was swanning around. Amparo could guess exactly what he was saying.

"Don't vote for Vincent. He's such a _bitch_. Guess what he called Angelo behind his back, it was really homophobic. I mean like, this is the twenty first century, who _does_ that? Do you really want a _homophobe_ in charge of us all?"

Amparo ought to have been mingling, talking to the citizens of Verona and persuading them to vote for her, but she had wanted a moment to herself to contemplate how things had worked out. Gabriel had been right – you should always be careful what you wished for. She was virtually the Deputy, but at what price? There were rumours going around that she had set Angelo up, a deal with Isabella. Whilst it was true, it was disconcerting. Escalus seemed to have caught wind of it. The extent of what he knew was not known to her. There was even another rumour going around, that she had gained her newfound power by Gabriel's use of witchcraft. It was true he was a Wiccan, but Amparo doubted very much that he would have done that. Gabriel cast spells very sparingly, and it was usually only for a good cause.

On the other side of the front. Juliet Capulet eagerly marked her ballot paper. Amparo had become fond of the girl. She sat in Lord Capulet's seat of governance more often than not these days. Apparently, Egues was having more and more health problems and preferred to sit in his chair by the radiator, with Eliseo playing at his feet, yelling at the servants for being slow. Juliet sat beside her and contributed to conversations, listening carefully to what Amparo had to say. It was only Juliet's naivety and inexperience that prevented her from becoming a great political mastermind. Amparo enjoyed the support from the Capulets she brought; perhaps she'd teach her.

"Juliet, who the hell shall I vote for?" shouted Hermia.

Her half-sister was not one for politics.

"Anyone you like, but not Vincent. He's a homophobe and a woman-hater"

"Ok"

"Guess who I just voted for!" announced Mercutio, jumping next to her.

"Who did you vote for, Mercutio?"

"My own party!"

"What party?" asked Amparo.

"The party I made up last week"

"What are they called?"

"The Toilet Paper Party"

"How lovely"

"Just like the Monster Raving Loony Party in England. I made Richard – do you remember Richard? The Duke of Gloucester?"

"Yes, I remember Richard"

"Well, I made tell me all about them!"

"Ok. So what's your manifesto?"

"Well, to stop global warming, we're going to put air conditioning on the outside of buildings to cool the place down. And, we're going to introduce a ninety nine cent coin to make change a lot simpler"

"You have thought about this a lot"

"Yes, I have" beamed Mercutio "Oh, and to sort out the Burry Estate, I'm going to paint it pink. That way, it'll create jobs, because we'll need painters to paint it, and also, it'll get rid of any vandalism!"

"Good luck with that, Mercutio" Amparo walked away. Back when she was at school, she had been considering going into science. Both of her sisters had. They were both in Verona, and tonight they would be voting for her. Amparo tried to think of all the campaigning she had done, all the support she had raised, all the publicity speeches, everything. Of course she could win.

Once again, she stood a little away from everyone. The ground felt like it was shaking. Amparo frowned and looked down.

The shakes grew harder. Suddenly, she was knocked right off of her feet. The walls were shaking, the room was shaking, the people were falling! She tried to clamour upright, and find some shelter, but there was none. Some of the roof was breaking apart. Her mouth opened to scream. People who were on their feet ran, and people who were off simply rolled. All over Verona, there would be centres like this, full of people, all trapped in one building, that was collapsing!

She climbed to her knees, and started to crawl, but a hunk of ceiling was thundering it's way down. Amparo crawled back the other way, and watched as it blocked her off from the rest of the hall. Another piece fell, and this time she wasn't quick enough. Dazed, the room began to spin and the front of her head hurt. Someone was shrieking in a high pitched voice to stand in all the doorways and archways, or find a small room like a cupboard, claiming they were stronger.

The shaking stopped. It must have been an earthquake. Amparo was lying, propped up by her elbow.

"The aftershock!" someone else shouted "Beware of the aftershock! Come on, out of here, it'll only get worse!"

They all got up, but Amparo couldn't get to her feet. She was still very dizzy and disorientated. Suddenly, there came the aftershock. She lost any balance she had gained, and more of the ceiling was caving in. Now it was dark, and she couldn't see a thing. She could hear people still yelling and shouting, but that was all. In her dark, lonely prison, she felt something else hit her head, and all was black.

* * *

The evening had started off well enough.

Benvolio arrived at Capulet Manor, greeting Hermia and little Eliseo with a hug and kiss each. Because Hermia's apprenticeship was in mechanics, she hadn't been able to study it in Venice, where everyone travelled in gondolas and no one used cars. She had to stay in Verona. It was only an hour away, really, but Benvolio missed her. He tried to come home every weekend, but a lot of the time he had to do his coursework, or shifts at his part-time job. Hermia had her part-time job too. And even when Benvolio made it home, the train ride still cost money, and they were just about keeping themselves afloat at the moment.

"Have you voted, love?" asked Benvolio.

"Yes. Allegra held Eliseo for me whilst I did. She's still too young to vote, so she offered to watch him with Micro" replied Hermia, wrapping her arms around him.

"Ah, they'll be pleased to see each other. Eliseo seems so fond of his little...is he his second cousin?"

"I think so. Ask Rosaline, she knows more about family trees than I do. I just say he's my nephew and Eliseo's cousin"

"It's good to see you all again" Benvolio stroked his fingers through her silky red hair.

"I know. I've missed you. I even miss how you smell"

"How I smell? I don't smell! Do I?"

"No! Not like that! You smell of...nice things" Hermia put her hands on his shoulders "Will you be home next weekend?"

"I don't know" sighed Benvolio "I'm not sure I can afford it this week. I wasn't really able to pay for it this week either, it's just I needed to get back here to vote, so I didn't really have a choice"

"Oh" Hermia chewed her lip "And I was going to ask if we could go shopping together. Eliseo needs a new coat. He grows so fast, I don't know if I'm buying his stuff too small or something. And then we have Christmas around the corner..."

"Ssh, it's all right. We'll get him a new coat. I just won't get Beatrix a present this year. She can do without another disgusting pink object for her flat"

Hermia snorted "Well, never mind. I have you for this weekend. And...tonight"

Benvolio glanced quickly around the hall to make sure no one was looking. He slipped his hand from her shoulder and gently cupped her breast, caressing it with the light touch of a lover. Hermia grinned delightedly as her usually prudish partner fondled her in public.

He had been looking down at her as they spoke. Being the petite little thing she was, she was about several inches smaller than he was, so whenever they spoke, or kissed, Benvolio had to look down and Hermia had to look up. Or, and more in tune with Hermia's nature, she would leap up and wrap her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist so they could be face to face. But out of the corner of his eye, Benvolio suddenly noticed someone. He glanced up, letting his hand fall to his side.

"What is it?"

"Nothing" said Benvolio, not wanting to worry her "I just thought I saw someone. You...you stay here. No, you go and stand with Allegra. Stay with someone. I'm just going too..."

He wandered off. Hermia shrugged and joined Allegra and Juliet and the two little monsters. Meanwhile, Benvolio jostled through the crowd. Mercutio was over on one side, and Romeo on the other. His two friends still weren't speaking. It broke Benvolio's heart to see his trio split in half.

That was when he felt the shaking.

Over the other side of the hall, he noticed Amparo had lost her feet. Romeo and Mercutio were now running towards him. Hermia and the girls had fled, taking Eliseo and Micro with them. Gabriel was suddenly shrieking at everyone to stand under doorways and arches. He had lost track of the person he thought he saw. Then, Benvolio lost his feet, and tumbled across the floor through a cloud of dust from some rubble. He lost sight of his friend and fell down in a daze, wondering what had just happened. There were sounds of crashing, and screaming, and then silence.

He coughed, and wheezed. It had gone completely dark, and the air was full of dust. He straightened his glasses, of which one lens had a crack in, and sat up. Someone was nearby, but he couldn't see who it was. It was too large to be Hermia or one of his friends. By God, he hoped they were ok...

"Hello?" Benvolio called "Are you all right?"

He crawled forwards slowly, not wanting to disrupt the rubble, and gently touched the person on the shoulder.

They spun around.

"You!" cried Benvolio.

"Me" choked Demetrius.

"What are you doing here?" spluttered Benvolio "You're supposed to be in prison for trying to kill my son!"

"I told you, or was it that blond prettyboy? I told you, I had a mother and father who love me. They paid my bail. I'm free until the trial. And I have the right to vote, you know"

"Get away" Benvolio crawled away.

"I can't. We're stuck here. Together" Demetrius grinned. Benvolio shuddered.

_'Jesus Christ, what must have it been like for Hermia? To lie helpless under...under _that_, and see that grinning face the whole time? Oh, Hermia. My sweet feisty Hermia...'_

* * *

Angelo was one of the lucky ones, he supposed. He was able to get to an archway and shelter beneath it. Gabriel had been very clever to remember that in earthquakes, small rooms and doorways were more likely to provide shelter and safety.

Alexei, he had shielded in his arms, and he seemed all right, apart from a few bumps and bruises. He wailed loudly. Angelo had never heard the usually amiable child shriek so loud. He sounded like Gabriel when he had been a child. After everything stopped, and he blinked, and looked around. A couple of people had followed Gabriel's direction, and they were standing close by to him.

"Is the building secure?" Angelo called out "We need to get out of here, and fast. There may still be falling debris, and we want to get out of here quickly, but without disrupting anymore rubble. Understand?"

Taking charge came naturally to him. The doorway was unharmed, and so Angelo soon had people clearing a pathway, whilst simultaneously caring for Alexei. He had people use their phones to ring relatives to see if they were ok, rather than dig through rubble and endanger themselves, and made sure that survivors were carried out safely and given treatment. Angelo himself knew little about first aid, but he was able to organize a small group of people who did. The bodies they found...and there were a few...Angelo laid them out and ripped out sections of the ruined carpets, which he placed over them, as a mark of respect.

Slowly, emergency services arrived. More survivors emerged from the collapsed building. From the outside, it looked as if a bomb had hit it. A couple of buildings had survived, and they tended to be the newer, squarer buildings. With any luck, Angelo's home would ok. He had a feeling that Capulet Manor, with its ancient history and crumbling walls, would have been one of the homes hit the hardest.

Alexei sobbed, clutching Angelo's scarf. With a sudden glance down, Angelo realised he hadn't spotted any of his children yet in the groups of survivors, or the injured, or the dead. His heart jolted. In the time he had spent attempting to help everyone else, he'd forgotten them. For the second time in his life.

* * *

When the ceiling came crashing down, Mercutio's first thought had been for his friends.

Allegra was safely standing with Juliet and Hermia away from the breaking ceiling by the door. He noticed them exit quickly, carrying Micro and Eliseo. Mercutio was glad. There hadn't been time to reunite, and he was grateful that Micro was safe.

He himself went running at Romeo. Benvolio suddenly disappeared in a cloud of dust. He grabbed Romeo (who still wasn't speaking to him) and yelled at him to help him find Benvolio. They rushed over to their friend, only to have a large chunk of ceiling fall a few feet in front of them.

Mercutio felt a piece of rubble slam onto his shoulder. He cried and staggered with pain, but surged forward, trying to claw at the rubble that separated him from Benvolio. Romeo reached over to help him, and then more rocks tumbled down. Dust suddenly clouded Mercutio's eyes, and he rubbed them furiously. He saw Romeo's blurred figure dancing before his eyes, and then felt himself being lifted and guided away.

Then another avalanche of rubble fell.

And this time Romeo was the unlucky one.

He tripped over, and Mercutio scrambled over to help him up. But a large wooden support beam fell from the top of the rubble pile separating them from Benvolio crashed down, pinning Romeo by his leg to the ground. Romeo wailed in pain, and Mercutio crawled over. He tried to push at it, but it was too heavy. The shaking had stopped, and finally he was able to think. His head was spinning. Had he been hit on the head too?

"It hurts" sobbed Romeo "It hurts. I think I've broken my leg"

"My shoulder hurts too. And my head. I see Queen Mab!" exclaimed Mercutio.

Romeo giggled hopelessly. Now the falling had stopped, it had gone very quiet. Mercutio looked around through his sore dust-clouded eyes. They were hemmed in by rubble.

"Are you all right, though, Mercutio?" asked Romeo.

"Apart from my shoulder, I think I'm fine" Mercutio answered truthfully. He looked at it, and was shocked to see blood seeping through his coat. He pulled it off to look at the damage. Romeo gasped.

"It must be bandaged to stop the bleeding. Come here" Romeo sat up as best as he could, and started ripping Mercutio's shirt to bind it. Mercutio whimpered as he did so.

"Do you think Benny's all right? He just disappeared. Do you think he's trapped under the rubble?"

"I don't know" Romeo glanced around. He tried to pull at his leg from under the wooden beam, but just succeeded in making himself cry. Mercutio tried to lift it again, but with the pain in his shoulder, failed. He lay down uselessly next to Romeo. Blood was drumming in his ears, and he suddenly felt very tired.

"Mercutio?" asked Romeo.

"Yes?" Mercutio gave a pain-choked whisper.

"I'm sorry I got mad at you"

"It's all right"

"I should have been more understanding. You were in a difficult position"

"Don't worry about it..."

"You're my best friend, and you're a good person, and that's all that counts, right?"

"Right..."

"I don't know what I'd do without you and Ben. We're the Montague Boys, us three. We should always be out for each other"

"I know..."

Sleepily, and content that his friend had finally made peace with him, Mercutio was finally able to forgive himself for selling his second family to clear Angelo's name. He rested his head next to Romeo and closed his eyes. Help would come eventually and they'd make it out of here, but for now all that mattered was that they were friends.

* * *

Of all people Benvolio had to be trapped with, it had to be Demetrius. He didn't know where Hermia was, or if his son was still alive. He prayed they were both safe.

"I can get us out of here, you know"

"Don't talk to me" spat Benvolio "Don't look at me"

"But you want to get out of here, don't you? You want to find your family"

"I said don't talk to me!" yelled Benvolio, tossing a rock at him. It missed, hit a pile of rubble, and a mini avalanche tumbled down at Demetrius, who rolled out the way.

"We'll need to leave now that you've done that. It could fall and we could die" stated Demetrius.

"Fine. You walk in front. But don't talk to me, and especially don't look at me"

Demetrius led them through the pile of ruins. Benvolio swallowed when he saw a body, and averted his eyes. Demetrius glanced down and looked at it.

"Walk!" Benvolio snapped "Just walk! I don't want to spend any moment longer with you than necessary!"

They found a door, though the corridors created by the rubble, which led them up a ruined staircase, along a partly collapsed corridor, and onto a balcony overlooking the hall, the scene of the slaughter. Benvolio swallowed again. The edges and the wall had broken away, and the remaining ground seemed unstable and unsafe to walk on.

"You go ahead" commanded Benvolio, firmly. Demetrius did. They found another staircase, and followed that. The path was becoming more treacherous "Where are we going?" asked Benvolio.

"I used to come here when I was a kid. For social parties, since our family home in Verona wasn't big enough. We come from Sparta, in Greece, originally, and back there we had-"

"I don't care" spat Benvolio "I really, really don't care. Where are we going?"

"To the roof" said Demetrius "I know how to get there. A helicopter is bound to see us and rescue us. We won't be missed. If we're lucky, we could climb across the buildings and get down. Some are bound to have collapsed and have left rubble to lead down to the ground"

They crossed over another balcony, even more collapsed than the one before. Benvolio gulped, and closed his eyes.

_'Don't let him see you like this. You are the better man. You are stronger. Keep calm, and stay in control'_

He forced himself to open them. Demetrius was watching him with pale eyes. Benvolio swallowed, and then addressed him "You go ahead. I will follow"

Demetrius had gone three yards when he stumbled. Benvolio gasped, but then the floor gave way. There was a small ledge, just enough for one person to crawl across on. Demetrius was clinging to the end of it by his hands.

"Get up" said Benvolio, a cold edge to his voice.

Demetrius tried, but some rubble broke away. His hands clawed, trying to find something to hold onto.

"Help me!" he gasped, looking up into Benvolio's eyes "Please. I brought you to safety"

"You call this safety?" Benvolio hissed, looking around.

"I thought it would be ok. Please. I don't want to die"

"You deserve to die" Benvolio retorted coldly.

"I'm not totally evil! It was Edouard who kidnapped your son. He made me do it. And Hermia never said no, the first time. She said yes. She only screamed in ecstasy, as I-"

"Shut up!" Benvolio lost his temper, something that he rarely did, and flung a rock at Demetrius' head. If Demetrius continued clawing at the ledge, there would be nothing left for Benvolio to cross. He was weakening it as he hung.

Demetrius wailed, ducking and twisting, but clinging on.

"Before I leave you to die" Benvolio glared "I want to ask you something"

"Help me..."

"Silence!" snarled Benvolio, hitting one of Demetrius' hands with a plank of wood. Demetrius screeched, letting go. He dangled from one hand now.

"What is it?" Demetrius choked, fighting to hold on "Ask it, but as long as you'll save me. Ask it!"

"Why did you do it?" asked Benvolio, hatred and anger dripping from his every word "Why did you rape Hermia? What did she ever do to you, to deserve that? She's a wonderful girl. How can anyone so nice deserve to be raped?"

"Wonderful girl? So nice? She's fucked more boys than I have girls. She's cheated on more boyfriends than I have on girlfriends. She's a slut. I'm Demetrius Menelaus, and I'll have what I please. When I wanted her, she denied it to me. She denied me? A girl like her, who denied me? Ha! So I took her"

"You disgust me" Benvolio gaped.

"Do you even know her? I mean, really know her? Do you know all the dirty little things she's done? Do you know her past? Do you even know her mother's name?"

"I know my fiancé perfectly well. And it doesn't matter what's in the past, it's done now. We love each other, and we love our son"

"Her mother was a famous Greek whore, from Athens. Lord Capulet met her there on a political visit with Escalus. Newly married, and he was rutting with some red-haired slut-"

"Enjoy hell" Benvolio stood up, ready to hit Demetrius' other hand with the wood and send him to his death.

"Help me, please!" begged Demetrius, changing his tune "I won't bother you anymore. We can reunite our houses. Capulet, Montague and Menelaus. If I ever have a daughter, she can marry your son"

"My boy deserves better than your disgusting pollution" hissed Benvolio. More rubble broke away. Demetrius' grip grew slick with sweat. Where those tears in his eyes?

"Help" he gasped "Help!"

"No" said Benvolio coldly. He watched, as Demetrius struggled to hold on. He suddenly wailed, and his hands came free. Benvolio watched him fall with a feeling of satisfaction. When the dead man had stopped wailing, and lay in a splattered heap on the floor, Benvolio gave a disgusting grin of satisfaction. He'd never liked blood and gore, or death, but for the first time in his life, he did.

Now he had a choice. Did he follow Demetrius' path, or turn back the way he came?

The ledge was treacherous, but Benvolio knew there was enough from for him to cross if he so wished. There was a doorway up ahead, and was that moonlight slicing through?

He decided to take the risk. If he went back, he could be injured yet again from falling debris, and there had been no way out from where he had been stuck previously. He could be trapped there for days.

And like most the Montagues, Benvolio was of medium height, with a stockier build. However due to his lack of physical activity, he was slighter than Romeo or his father and uncle. Demetrius had been huge, almost as tall as Tybalt, and full of muscle. He was heavy. No wonder the floor had collapsed. Benvolio was much more likely than him to make it across the path without it collapsing. He closed his eyes, and etched across...

And it held. He was safely over. He wrenched open the door, and he was standing on a balcony, not the roof. Mercifully, it was intact. Down below, he could see his family, and Hermia's red hair. Eliseo was clutched in her arms.

"Hermia!" he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth "Hermia, love! Up here!"

"Benny!" she shrieked when she saw him "How did you get up there?"

"The way out was blocked!" he hollered back.

"Daddy!" he heard Eliseo call delightedly.

"Can you jump down?"

"Hell, no!"

"There's a ladder nearby" Gabriel's shock of platinum blond hair moved into view "I could climb onto the lower balcony, which is wider than the balcony where Benvolio is, and you could pass the ladder to me. I could put it up, and he could climb down onto the balcony"

"Are you having a laugh? That's dangerous!"

"But it's a risk worth taking. How long before that balcony collapses? I don't like the look of the supports. I'm no architect, but this building isn't safe" said Gabriel "I won't lose one of my friends"

"Benvolio's not your-" began Hermia, but he was clamouring up to the first balcony.

"Gabriel! What the hell are you doing?" roared Angelo.

"Climbing!" replied Gabriel.

"You'll fall!"

"You're wrong! I never fall! All those times I snuck out of my room to go partying, I never fell down the drainpipe once! Someone fetch that ladder!"

They had no choice but to hand Gabriel the ladder, which he promptly placed up to Benvolio.

"I hate heights" whimpered Benvolio.

"Shut up and climb!" instructed Gabriel. Benvolio slowly began the descent. Hermia sighed with relief when he reached Gabriel on the balcony. Gabriel hugged him, and Benvolio pulled a face at her. They clamoured back down, much to the relief of Angelo and Hermia.

Benvolio kissed Hermia's forehead "I have a gift for you. Demetrius is dead"

"Demetrius?" her face paled.

"He was here. He was out on bail, and he came to vote. When the building collapsed, I was with him. He promised to led me to safety, but he fell down a balcony. I watched him die"

"Of all the deaths today...his was the most deserved"

Benvolio kissed her forehead again "I know"


	31. Cinghiale Bianco

Feebop - Cute name! And thanks! I've been researching. Apparently, the Veneto area (Verona, Venice, etc) have had a lot of tectonic activity lately, and I figured it might make sense that that kind of natural disaster could strike. And writing Angry Benny felt good.

RichardIII1955 - Ha! Yes! Demetrius is dead! I felt so satisfied writing it. No one hurts Hermy and gets away with it! Amparo will explain herself in this chapter. Poor Ben, getting hugged by Gabe.

Sorry for the late update! I've been busy starting university and stuff. I hoped to get this finished before I started but it was not to be. So, what has happened in Verona? I kind of feel like I'm Montague-bashing in the first part. I am not a Montague hater! I loooooove Benny and Merc, and Romeo the impulsive idiot. It's just the adults in that family who are dicks. And secondly, the last part of the chapter was inspired by a scene from my favourite show, Game of Thrones.

* * *

From that moment, things only went from bad to worse for the Montagues. Anthony Montague, who had cast his vote, had been on his way back to the Ranch. When he finally arrived, it was only to find the Ranch in ruins. It had crumbled completely to the ground. Beatrix found to her horror that none of her _Twilight_ books had survived, and that her Nicki Minaj CDs were smashed to smithereens. It only meant one thing. The Montagues were homeless.

Interestingly enough, two of the surviving buildings of the great families of Verona happened to be Capulet Manor, and Oftmoro Grange.

"How do they like that, hmm?" Rosaline muttered to herself "Sexually harass that, Montagues. You're finished"

"Hush, Rosaline" said Gabriel, cradling Alexei, after being delightedly reunited with him "It's not funny"

"Don't deny it's more than coincidence"

"And that's why it's not funny" replied Gabriel.

"That's why it is funny" retorted Rosaline "Here is our curse. Let it serve them right!"

"It serves the idiots who concocted this ridiculous scheme right, but others will suffer. Think about the Montagues in our generation, and their children. They are good people, and you know that. None of them played a role in this. That's Romeo's inheritance in ruins. Did Romeo ever do anything to offend us?"

"Erm, let me think" replied Rosaline "Oh, yes! He used to harass me, pretending to be in love with me, and stalk me, and send me stupid love poems and leave me putrid messages on my telephone. There!"

"Sometimes I wonder out of which of us two is the worst" Gabriel shook his head. He looked up to see Angelo making his way over to them "Is everyone out of there yet? Is everything going to be ok?"

"Mostly" said Angelo "The injured are all on their way to hospital. The dead are being found and taken away. There are just a couple of people missing"

"Do we know them?" asked Gabriel.

"They haven't found Amparo"

"Amparo?" Gabriel's heart skipped a beat "You mean she could be dead?"

"Possibly. But we don't know" said Angelo quickly "Sit down, the professionals know what they're doing, they-"

But Gabriel had handed Alexei to Rosaline, and was already running back into the building.

"Why is my son such a gallant fool?" asked Angelo.

Rosaline shrugged "Better he was that than a bitch"

* * *

Gabriel looked around the hall. Rubble had been cleared away, and so he could easily get through again. There was a large pile of more rubble, that was shaped almost like a cave. Gabriel pulled out his phone, and dialled her number. Sure enough, he heard ringing. That was her phone.

And it was coming from inside the rubble. Gabriel gasped. Amparo was under all of that? Without a thought for his safety, he wrenched a large piece of debris away. Small rocks tumbled down on him. Gabriel coughed and wheezed. His platinum blond hair turned ashy-grey, and dirt smeared across his cheeks and forehead.

"You, sir!" shouted a fireman.

"What?" snapped Gabriel.

"Get out of here! It's not safe!"

"My girlfriend is buried under this rubble!" shrieked Gabriel. It wasn't a complete lie. He still loved her, even though they hadn't been together for two months.

"How do you know?"

"I just rang her mobile. She's trapped. She didn't pick up, so she can't reach her phone. Help me move it all"

Between him and a crew of firemen, they shifted the rubble away. Gabriel spied a hand, wearing a silver ring on her forefinger. That was Amparo's ring. Her mother had given it to her as a present on her sixteenth birthday.

"There she is! Keep moving!"

Eventually, they unearthed her head, shoulder, and the rest of her arm. Gabriel crouched down beside her. Her eyes were closed, her face was pale, and covered with grime and turned towards him. He was aware of someone trying to feel her pulse, but he did not move.

"Amparo?" he cradled her head in his hand, and it came away sticky with blood "Amparo? Are you all right"

Finally, she coughed. Her dark eyes flickered open. Hope filled Gabriel. She recognised him.

"Gabriel...baby"

"Baby?" asked Gabriel, puzzled. Amparo never called him 'baby' as a term of endearment. That was the sort of thing Rosaline would call Tybalt. Unless she meant Alexei?

Her eyes closed again.

Gabriel clutched her hand, and started to talk to keep her awake "Alexei's fine. He's outside with Rosaline, and Angelo. They're fine, too. I managed to tell people to stand in all the doorways and archways so they'd be safe from collapsing rubble. My god, look at the state of you, though!"

"Keep clearing this rubble. Do it slowly" instructed another fireman "As soon as it's shifted, her blood pressure is going to drop. We need to get some paramedics in here"

"No..." Amparo murmured, drifting between conscious and unconscious "Our baby"

"Our baby? We don't have one. Do you mean the cats?"

He sound found out what she meant when all the rubble and debris was cleared. She had been wearing a deep red suit, but even that didn't disguise the red blood soaked in a puddle around her legs. There had been a baby, but there wasn't one anymore.

* * *

"You need to drink. And eat" said Hermia.

"I'm not hungry" replied Juliet.

"You'll get ill..."

"I'll kill myself if he dies!" wailed Juliet, clutching Romeo's hand.

"Now, you're being stupid" Hermia scolded "What will that achieve?"

"I'll be dead!"

"And you'll leave even more people crying and missing someone" Hermia shook her head "He won't die, Juliet. He's broken his leg and he's just tired and resting. But eat something. And get some rest. Otherwise he'll be looking after you when you get sick"

"Would that it were me suffering instead of him"

Mercutio ripped aside the curtains of the cubicle "Did someone say Woo woo was poorly?"

"Shouldn't you be resting?" asked Juliet.

"I don't like resting. It means I have to sit still, and sitting still is for poo-poo heads and bum-bum faces" Mercutio limped in, his shoulder swaddled in bandages, and a hospital gown wrapped around the rest of him. He bent low over Romeo and poked his nose.

"Mercutio!" scolded Juliet.

"Woo woo!" Mercutio called into Romeo's ear "I'm lonely and bored in my bed. Can I get in with you?"

Hermia giggled, but Juliet shook her head "The hospital beds are way too narrow for two people! You'll crush it!"

"Oh I don't know. When I was in here after having Eliseo, Benny used to squeeze in for a cuddle"

Mercutio started to play with a strand of Romeo's hair "Don't make me start licking you!"

"Licking?" Juliet cried.

"Woo woo!" Mercutio called again "Do you want to hear some jokes?"

Juliet sighed and groaned.

"Albert Einstein is at a party. He turns to the person next to him and says 'What's your IQ?' The person says '300!' and Albert Einstein says 'Excellent! We will have much to discuss about quantum physics' He turns to the next person and says 'What's your IQ?' and they say '150' and he says 'Splendid! We will have lots to talk about politics and current events' Then, he sees another person, and says 'What's your IQ?' This person replies '20,' so Albert Einstein says 'What's your favourite book in the _Twilight_ saga?'"

"Mercutio! Now is not the time!" grumbled Juliet. But, they were interrupted, as they heard the sound of soft laughter. Romeo's eyes were open, and he was chuckling.

"You might as well tell that to Beatrix, you know she'll never get the joke!"

* * *

"How are you feeling?"

Amparo took her time to reply.

"Sore" she sighed.

Gabriel came and sat beside her. Her dark hair was all a tangle, and she looked pale under a bloodstained bandage wrapped around her forehead.

"That was...quite a bump on the head"

"The rubble acted as a protection against the worst of the collapse. I'm lucky to be alive"

"I couldn't believe it, when I rang your phone, and I heard it under the rubble. I was so afraid you'd been killed, I can't imagine -"

Gabriel broke off, swallowing his words. Her dark brown eyes met his dark blue ones. They both spoke at the same time.

"We need to talk"

"Why didn't you tell me you were expecting?" demanded Gabriel angrily "Why didn't you tell me you were having our baby? I feel awful. I feel awful because I wasn't there, and I feel awful because I never knew about the poor little thing. In fact, I feel like...I feel like Alexei has died"

"Would you have listened, or accused me of making it up as a plot to get you back?"

"Never!" gasped Gabriel. He looked horrified "When Rose told me she was expecting Alexei, Angelo said the same thing, about it being some plot to trap me. Did I listen? No! I did everything in my power to be there for her and the baby. I'd never cast anyone carrying my baby aside. Why would you even suggest such a thing?"

"I don't know" shrugged Amparo "You don't seem to know where your loyalties lie these days. One minute you hate Angelo, and want to punish him, and the next you're cosying up to him and letting him take care of Alexei, when previously you said you could have nothing to do with him. Perhaps I should start calling you the new Lord Warwick"

"That's not funny. This is completely different"

"No. You're right. I could call you Deputymaker"

"Har har" retorted Gabriel. Then he looked thoughtful "You know, it doesn't quite have the ring of 'Kingmaker,' it kind of needs to have just one syllable first for the effect to take place"

Amparo sniggered.

"Will you tell me why...why you did what you did?" asked Gabriel softly.

Amparo looked at him with her dark eyes "I thought you hated Angelo. I thought that was what you wanted!"

"Not like that!"

"And how was I supposed to know that? All I know is, for the duration of our relationship, all you ever talked about when you spoke of Angelo, was how much you hated him. How you wanted to hurt him, how you wanted to get revenge on him, how you wanted to ruin his career in return for him not allowing you to become a ballerina, or should I say, danseur. And then I had to listen to all the things you claimed he did to you. Such as how he slapped you round the face"

"I deserved it"

"No child deserves to be slapped"

"I wasn't a child. I was fifteen years old, old enough to hurt people. I'd done something bad. Angelo had tried to get into contact with Rosaline and Livia, the first time in years that he'd been brave enough too, and I decided to stir up trouble by giving Camilla back her wedding dress. Rosaline was furious and upset. Angelo was devastated. When he tried to talk to me, I called him names and screamed at him. I deserved to be slapped"

"What do you mean?"

"Angelo wasn't a bad father, I was a bad son. Until lately, I'd never heard his side of the story. And he's never told anyone either. You've never heard it. But now I have, it all makes sense"

"But all _I_ knew was all the bad things he'd done to you. I cared about you, Gabriel, you meant a lot to me, and it infuriated me that he did that. I just...I felt he needed to be punished"

"I think he feels pretty punished now"

"And it wasn't just that. There were other things involved. Political things. You wouldn't understand them"

"Yes, I do. Try me"

"You know that Angelo has done very little to improve things for LGBT people-"

"Because he is one and he was terrified of being judged and becoming a hate figure. Which, he is now. We still have those extremist idiots camping outside the house and yelling abuse every time we put the rubbish out. Even when he was in hospital having radiotherapy, they would follow us and shout stuff outside the hospital. Lord Lancely says he's going to ring the police if they invade his land to get to us, but other than that, no one is doing anything about it. No one cares, Amparo. It makes me sick!"

"Like I said, I didn't know that until recently. I thought you were just saying silly things about him. It disgusted me that he appeared to be sitting back and doing nothing, when there was so much he could do. I didn't know he had cancer. I didn't know he was bisexual and insecure about it. I didn't know anything of what was going on. All I knew, was that I thought we were going to lose the election because, to me, he appeared to be doing nothing to prepare and rally our power. If we lost, Vincent and his homophobes would get in. And I thought...I thought that it was my duty to prevent that. I thought that perhaps I could do it, that I could be Deputy instead and rule. I wasn't afraid of being targeted by fundamentalists and extremists, I have a very thick skin. I thought I was acting for the good of the party. It's like..." Amparo paused, thinking of a way to make it clear for Gabriel to understand "Suppose Rene never chose you to play the Swan"

"I was his only choice"

"But say you weren't. Say the role went to an older, more experienced dancer. An old, boring dancer, who'd played the role before and wasn't experimenting or trying anything new. Suppose you had to sit and watch as the production went down hill, all the while knowing that you could do something. You could make a difference. Don't tell me you wouldn't butter the stairs"

"I would have done" Gabriel admitted reluctantly "But why like that? Why shame Angelo as a pervert?"

"It was Isabella's idea. On my own, I was planning to just drive him down a little, work at his insecurities, and try and see if I could get myself in the spotlight, and then hopefully become the Deputy myself. But it was too slow, too slow. And if I didn't get Angelo out quickly, then nobody would believe that he was the problem, not the party, and vote us all out. It was the reputation of one man, against the entire future of Verona, in my hands. I am responsible for this city. I had to think what was best for the people. And the people were more important to me than a man who I had reason to believe was a child-abuser" Amparo sighed, taking a breath, before continuing "Isabella and Claudio wanted him out, because they hate his liberal policies anyway, and they think that Angelo is taking money and power away from the old nobility and they're worried about what will happen when Romeo is Lord Montague. When Isabella suggested the scheme to me, I was tempted and I took the chance. Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same for your career. Don't tell me Angelo has never done so in his career"

Gabriel glanced down. It shamed him to say so...but if he wanted something that badly...

He covered his honest reply by asking a different question "But you're even more liberal than Angelo. Why make a deal with Isabella to return power to the wealthy when it's not what you believe?"

"I lied to Isabella. She offered to help me get in power, if I blocked liberal reforms. Of course I wouldn't block my liberal reforms. Once I was in power, I would be in power, and there would be nothing she could do about it. If she confessed the scheme, that would be her family in trouble. I would do as I wished. And anyway, I'm sick of those rich idiots prancing around calling themselves Lords without doing anything. For years they just sat feuding with each other, and now they're meddling in political matters which they weren't even elected to represent. Why don't they ever work for something, like your sister?"

"But what if...what if Angelo was right, and society isn't ready for these reforms, and you got in power, and you tried to do it, and everyone hated it, and just voted you out?"

"I'd be in power for five years. As long as my MPs voted for my reforms, besides protesting and smashing up Verona, there would be nothing the people could do about it. And at the end of the five years, my reforms would stand, and if I was voted out, I'd gladly go. I'd have made my mark, and there are still many things I want to do in my life, some of which do not involve politics. I was hoping to get another university degree. I want to go and see more of the world. And if it's not too late, I'd like to get married and have children"

Gabriel was silenced. He sat in the visitor's chair, and drew his knees up to his chin and wrapped his arms around his legs.

"Some of the ballet theatre was damaged in the earthquake. I won't be performing for some time. After the success of 'Naughty Prince' the single, King Edward has invited Mercutio and I to perform Edouard: The Musical, at the West End, but we can't take Tudor with us because he's in exile in Brittany, and if he sets one foot in England, the Yorkists will either kill him or lock him in the Tower. Before the quake, Rene was asking me to tour, but we can't perform in Anjou and some parts of France because I offended Margaret of Anjou by singing the role of Edouard in the 'Naughty Prince' song from the musical. But either way, I still have Alexei to think about wherever I go. Angelo says he'll look after him, but I don't want to leave him. I don't know what I'll be doing or where I'll be going"

"I don't know whether I've been elected Deputy, or if I have, if I'm up to the job" sighed Amparo "Santana, my sister, treated me. She said I should take it easy these next few weeks"

"So we're both at the crossroads"

"Yes. I suppose we are. Oh, Gabriel. Do you know if Coco is ok? Was my wuffly boy hurt in the quake? And what about Snooky?"

"Coco and Snooky are fine" replied Gabriel "When Angelo took Alexei home after being checked over by the paediatrician, I made him search the mansion for Snooky-pooky, and she was hiding under my bed. Juno was with us, and he was ok, so I made him go to yours and search for Coco. He was hiding in your wardrobe. Juno brought him to mine, and Angelo is looking after them" Gabriel suddenly giggled "And he hates cats!"

Amparo laughed with him. Gabriel laid his hand over hers. Was there hope for them? Could he forgive her? Could Angelo forgive her? Could they ever be a real family?

* * *

Rescue teams had been dispatched over Verona. The earthquake measured 6.2 on the Richter Scale, and many lives had been lost in the Veneto area. There was little the neighbouring city states could do to assist Verona, as they too had been affected.

"So much for that alliance" said Escalus to Mercutio, reading the rejection letter from the Duke of Mantua.

"He's a poo poo head" retorted Mercutio, rubbing his injured shoulder.

The results of the election had been put on hold. Many of the ballot papers had been destroyed in the quake, particularly the polling station where Demetrius had met his demise, and so to elect a party with so many votes missing would be unfair and undemocratic. At the moment, no party ruled Verona, and there was no Deputy. Escalus ruled Verona alone, as his ancestors would have done. When he needed advice, he turned to his family, his siblings Edmondo and Adelaide, his nephews Valentine, Paris, and Mercutio, and even Allegra.

When everyone was safely out of the rubble, Escalus amassed the damage and the finances necessary to rebuild Verona and pay for all the medical treatment that his subjects would need. Most of the newer buildings were still standing, and only needed minor repairs, such as shutters to windows and such. But the older, precious buildings were in ruins. What was most baffling was the destruction of Montague Ranch, a building which was, whilst not new, but low lying and flat, rather than tall and crumbling like the Capulet Manor, or in a state of disrepair like Oftmoro Grange.

Escalus sighed. _'Well, what goes around, comes around,' _he thought _'Although it's not as bad as what Egues and Tancredo had tried to do to a previous Deputy who'd installed the Watch peace charity, to try and get them to stop feuding with the Montagues. Poor Remigio. I hope he's not still in counselling'_

By the end of the day, Escalus knew he would need a lot of money. He didn't know where he was going to find that money, as the other city states were unlikely to lend it to him, and the neighbouring country of France wasn't impressed with Mercutio's 'Edouard: The Musical' and were unlikely to help the city which mocked Margaret of Anjou's deceased son. Denmark was dealing with it's own troubles. Prince Hamlet had apparently gone mad, and so they were busy dealing with him. Escalus sighed, as all the places which might have granted him a loan were closed.

Just when he thought this couldn't get any worse, Gabriel Fulgencio came bursting through the door. Gabriel wasn't dancing at the moment, as the theatre needed repairs before it could be used again. Escalus needed a translator to try and speak to people who he thought he might be able to borrow money from. He had been unable to hire expensive translators due to his lack of funds, and Gabriel needed to earn some money during the time being, so Escalus had taken him on for minimum wage. He didn't need him everyday, which kept the cost down.

Gabriel didn't bow. He never did, but he seemed possessed of a new kind of maturity and responsibility that Escalus had never seen before within him.

"The Duke of Gloucester has arrived as an envoy from his grace, King Edward, the fourth of his name, of the United Kingdoms of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Will you require me to translate?"

"Yes, I will. Thank you, Gabriel. Send him refreshment. I will meet with him in the throne room"

* * *

It was Richard's third visit to Verona this year. Buildings which had previously impressed him by their foreign architecture now lay in ruins. A thousand faces, which had once been beautiful and carefree, now stared at him with hollow eyes.

Ned had sent him as his envoy. He had been loathe to part with Anne, but hoped she would be safe and happy with her sister, Isabel, and his brother George, the Duke of Clarence, at the Herber.

Gabriel stepped past him, standing on the makeshift pile of rubble which they were using as a 'stage' to address to the public. In a clear, loud, perfectly accented voice, he addressed the crowds in Italian.

"This is Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, brother to King Edward, the fourth of his name, of the United Kingdoms of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It is to Richard that you owe your thanks, for the financial and medical aid that England has been kind enough to send us-"

"No" said Richard, quietly. Gabriel stepped back.

Richard knew his Italian was poor at best. He wasn't like Gabriel, who knew five languages and was in the progress of learning a sixth. But he had been practising.

"You do not owe me your thanks. You do not owe me anything. You aided us when we need you, and I merely come as an envoy from my brother to repay your kindness in assisting him in regaining his crown, which is rightfully his by the grace of God. I cannot replace your homes or your deceased, but I hope to aid you. I bring you financial aid. I bring you medical aid. I bring you materials with which to rebuild your homes. The rest is for you alone. You must be brave, and strong, and take that into your own hands"

For a moment there was silence. Richard wondered if he had accidently said something embarrassing. Or if after all, they were loyal to the Lancastrians. Then suddenly, someone shrieked out.

_"Cinghiale bianco!"_

Some more began to shout as well. Richard turned to Gabriel.

"What does it mean? Is it an insult?"

Gabriel shook his blond head "It is no insult. It is Italian for white boar. Your sigil"

"My sigil? They are calling for me? Not England?"

Richard was used to representing Ned, and used to doing things in Ned's name. But now they were cheering him. All these people...they were calling to him...

_"Cinghiale bianco! Cinghiale bianco!"_

In a trance, Richard stepped forwards. His entourage looked on anxiously as he approached the crowd. Richard stepped into their mists. They patted him on the shoulder.

_"Cinghiale bianco!"_

"Where's he going?" asked Escalus "Is he all right?"

They lost sight of his dark head all but for a moment.

"Where is he?" Allegra asked, glancing around.

Then they had their answer. Two members of the crowd had lifted Richard up onto their shoulders.

_"Cinghiale bianco! Cinghiale bianco! Cinghiale bianco!"_

A circle formed around him. Richard looked up to the sky. He saw Gabriel, Prince Escalus, his siblings, his daughter, and his nephews and the rest of his court standing on the rubble. They seemed mystified by what was taking place. Richard felt mystified too. _'Is this how Ned feels?' _he thought _'So powerful, but yet so...humble?'_

He clasped hands with people has they rushed to hold him up.

_"Cinghiale bianco!"_ They chanted. The sound seemed to swell _"Cinghiale bianco! Cinghiale bianco! CINGHIALE BIANCO!"_


	32. Edouard: The Musical

And now, it is time, for the musical!

The musical is strongly based on Chris Lilley's excellent 'Mr G: The Musical' Several of the songs, such as 'My Name is Henry V' 'Welcome To Henry VI/Edward VI's Court' 'Middleham' 'Richard's Coming Over' 'Lancasters These Days' 'Don't Get Involved With Thugs' 'Naughty Prince' 'This Time You're Dead' and 'The Smell of Life' are simply the same songs but with the words changed. Full credit goes to him. Edouard's 'I Want It Now' song is Veruca Salt's song from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It fitted him so well it was a crime not to borrow it. Songs such as 'You Should Be King' 'Ned, You Only Think (With The Head That's In Your Trousers)' 'I Am The Kingmaker' 'One Day' 'Have They Forgotten Me?' 'Kitten-Killer' 'Something For Us' 'Something Evil' are my original work. Full credit goes to me, yay!

Also, Anne and Richard's song is based on the 'Serious Reprise' from Legally Blonde.

Secondly, in the musical, **there are historical inaccuracies**. Mercutio, as the author, is flattering the Yorkists and making them look better than they really are, so he can get away with saying ruder stuff about them elsewhere. And yes, I know Edouard didn't order the deaths of York and Edmund, I was just condensing events to make the musical quicker.

* * *

Before Angelo left to see the world, he had one last visit to make. He knew she wouldn't be pleased to see him, although he himself now felt quite indifferent to her.

When he arrived, she was sitting upright, reading a novel. When she saw him, she lowered it carefully and met his eyes.

"Angelo"

"Amparo"

"Have you come to gloat?"

"No. On the contrary, I came to offer my condolences about your loss"

"Our loss" corrected Amparo "It would have been your grandchild"

"Of course" said Angelo "I also came to thank you"

"To thank me?"

"Yes. Of course" Angelo smiled "You might have taken my job, my reputation, my career in politics, but if there's one thing you gave me in return, then it was my son. You made me realise he's far more precious than all three of those things combined, and for this, I thank you"

"I am glad to be of service. I had thought you were quite the child-abuser"

"I'd never do that"

"Well, it is good to know" replied Amparo.

"Yes, it is. Gabriel has explained to me why you decided to set me up"

"Has he?"

"Yes. I just thought I'd let you know, since there aren't any television sets in this ward of the hospital, and your internet is limited, that in the re-election, we lost"

"I saw it in one of the newspapers" sighed Amparo.

"I was sad to hear it. Although, on the contrary, I think Mercutio will make a cracking Deputy"

"Who would have thought that a parody party would actually win an election?"

"Certainly not me. I actually had my money on the Verona Socialists, especially since the Republicans are suffering the blows against their reputations by being homophobic to me. Who'd have thought that I'd rally everyone against conservatism simply by coming out the closet and suffering the bigoted hatred of idiots? Our party was out the question, I've resigned, you're recovering, Ralph and Clive are followers, not leaders, and they were the only other left-wing party. So, it looks like Mercutio is Deputy, and the Toilet Paper party, consisting of Hermia, Allegra and the rest of Mercutio's friends are in charge"

"He'll never last the year" said Amparo.

"Exactly" said Angelo "He's already starting painting the Burry Estate pink. It looks even worse. And he's trying to change the national anthem to Lady Gaga's new single"

"He is not the right person to rebuild Verona. He's no more than a clown. There is going to be chaos, and things will be worse off than ever"

"He has no experience or knowledge of how to run a successful economy"

"And his idea of educational reform is to ban homework"

Angelo shook his head "I might not be Deputy anymore, but you and I both have the interests and the welfare of this city at heart"

"And what do you mean by that?" asked Amparo.

"What I mean," explained Angelo "Is that I know what you need to do in order to regain power. I am out of the game. I will not stand for election again. But I know you will. And to do that, you need to clear your reputation. You need me on your side"

"I do?" Amparo raised her eyebrow.

"Yes. Because people are whispering that you set me up. I know you're not an evil woman. You're intelligent and ambitious. Perhaps overly ambitious, but never mind"

"And your point is?"

"My point is this," said Angelo "Gabriel still loves you. I don't know why, but for some reason, that idiot boy-"

"He's not an idiot. He's braver and cleverer than you are in many ways. You say he is precious to you. Don't drive him away again into my arms" taunted Amparo.

Angelo just shook his head "Never mind. You know I'm not a child-abuser, and that in my own way, I care for my children. I know you care about people. We both know you don't need to be _in_ power, to _have_ power. We both know we're good at plotting, and we both know that we could help each other with our plans. I can see the flaws in yours, and you can see the flaws in mind. Let's not use them against each other anymore. Let's work together this time. Together, we can rule the city"

* * *

And finally, it was Christmas. The entire royal court of Verona found themselves boarding a plan to England, where they had been invited to King Edward's Christmas Court. Mercutio, the new Deputy of Verona, sashayed up the stairs to the plane.

"All right, family!" he boomed "And musical cast, are we ready to go to the island of rain and chavs?"

"Yay!" cheered Hermia.

"Are we ready to sneak off one day and drive to Yorkshire and pimp Richard's castle out whilst he's at court?"

"Hell yes!"

"I'm thinking, since we're used a lot of pink paint on the Burry Estate lately, that neon orange will do nicely. And if there's not enough for the whole castle, we'll do stripes. Or maybe spots. Or perhaps a nice willy on the roof" Mercutio clamoured down into his seat. Micro crowed with joy, sitting between him and Allegra.

"I'm so proud of you, Mercutio!" said Allegra "Who'd have thought, my Wooshy-wo, rejuvenating the Burry Estate!"

Mercutio smiled smugly.

"Dadda!" Micro giggled "Dadda!"

"See? Even Micro thinks daddy is clever" cooed Allegra.

"Idiot" grunted Tybalt.

"Oh no" whimpered Benvolio, as the plane began to descend down the runway "It's taking off. I don't like take off. I don't like flying. I don't like planes. I don't want to go to England anymore. Let me off this plane!"

"Benny, it's just take off" Romeo leaned over "And it's only...two, three hours?"

"It's too late now anyway" shrugged Hermia "And Benny, take off is the best bit! Calm down"

"I don't like it!" wailed Benvolio. He screamed loudly and burrowed into Hermia's lap, moaning.

"Once we get there, he'll be ok" assured Juliet "You know, this is the first time we've been invited to a Christmas Court. I'm really excited. Are you?"

"Yes, I am, actually!" added Gabriel "It's Alexei's first Christmas, it might be nice to spend it somewhere really cold and windy! With actual snow!"

"We had snow the year Eliseo was born" Hermia ran her hand through her two year old's curls.

"We should go up to Lapland one year. Do all the Santa stuff, and see all the snow they get" Juliet agreed.

And soon they landed at Heathrow, and were driven to central London in limousines. At Buckingham Palace, they were greeted by King Edward. He and his family were doing well, so it seemed. His queen Elizabeth had recently delivered a son, and King Edward proudly held him up for all to see. Richard flinched away whenever the baby was brought near. When Gabriel asked him why, he replied that the baby had vomited and weed on him, causing Gabriel to giggle.

Anne, Hermia and Juliet's friend, was now living with her sister Isabel, and Richard's brother George.

"Anne come to musical?" asked Juliet.

"No. She's grieving" replied George.

"She grieve? She hate Edouard" frowned Hermia "She like 'Naughty Prince' song"

"She's not coming" shrugged George. He walked away quickly, shouting "Hey, Ned! Guess what I've got your girls for Christmas!"

Juliet raised her eyebrow at Hermia. Hermia got the hint, and quickly skulked across the room to Richard.

"So, Dickon. You see Anne?"

"No, I haven't" frowned Richard "George says she's in her room"

"Why she in room? Is Christmas, is family time. We go and get her" said Hermia firmly "She not miss musical!"

"Miss the musical? Of course not!" exclaimed Gabriel "Even Angelo is here to watch me perform. And so is my little half-brother Linton. He's playing Tudor, since the real one is in exile in Brittany. It's such a shame"

"No, it isn't" muttered Richard.

Linton appeared at Gabriel's side. He looked very much like his older brother, with platinum blond hair, ocean blue eyes and a fair complexion.

"Gabriel, can we do a last minute rehearsal? Can we go over 'This Time You're Dead?'"

"Of course we can. I'll excuse us and we'll go to our rooms"

"We rescue Anne" said Hermia. She grabbed Richard's arm and pulled him along, although he didn't need much pulling in his hast to find his sweetheart.

"Are you excited for the musical, King Ned?" asked Mercutio, jumping over and sitting in Elizabeth's throne. She glared over at him from where she had been saying hello to Rosaline.

"You speak English" Edward announced loudly.

"Yes!" said Mercutio "English is my father tongue! My dad was English, and he came to Verona seeking women and wine. He found himself a Veronese princess and my uncle's vintages. I grew up bilingual. I speak English and Italian"

"So, wait one moment" Edward frowned "You pretended you couldn't speak English? Why?"

"To make Gabriel translate!" Mercutio laughed evilly "I made him translate that rant about Queen Mab to you, didn't I?"

"So...if you speak English" said George "Then that means you heard all the names Edouard was calling you that he thought you couldn't understand?"

"Yes!" beamed Mercutio "I heard everything he said. I heard everything you lot said about me too. I'm sorry I disturbed you with my paintings. I do like to express myself you know"

"Dickon is not going to believe this" groaned Edward "Hey, where is Richard?"

"Surprise" said Richard, stepping around the throne, with Anne and Hermia.

"Anne" George raised his eyebrows in surprise "I thought you were-"

"Going to stay locked in her room and miss all the fun?" asked Richard "Not likely. Come on, Anne, darling, let's go and get good seats. I want to be in the front row for when Edouard gets shot"

"And I want to watch him pole-dance!" Anne laughed, slipping her arm through his.

* * *

Then, it was time for the musical to begin. The guests and hosts spilled into the hall, claiming seats, scrambling to sit with their friends. The lights went down, and the audience gasped. A voice over began.

"In England today, children are faced with French Invasions, paternity crisis's and scoliosis. It's just not right. One king, one Lancaster, tried to make a difference. That's king's name...was Henry the Fifth!"

The curtains lifted up. Mercutio, wearing a white bedsheet over his head with Hal's face drawn on and a crown on top, was lowered onto the stage from a harness. Meanwhile, a chorus had begun to chant.

"Frogs and snails! Frogs and snails!"

Singing, Mercutio began "My name is Henry V! Three talents, one, two, three! Drinking and partying and killing Frenchies is my life! I'm a Lancaster, that's for sure! In a family of crazy shits! At Britannia Isle!"

Dressed up as various Lancasters, the cast ran onstage. Margaret Beaufort was presented as a pregnant nun, Henry IV was wearing a Michael Jackson outfit, John of Gaunt wore a skeleton costume. King Edward roared with laughter at it.

"Hey kids! It's time to watch the musical!" declared Hal. The family ran back offstage, and as the music stopped, he walked to the front of the stage.

"Hi, my name is Henry V, the former King of England. I won the battle of Agincourt and then died of the shits. My son became Henry VI, and then his son...then his son...led my family to ruin. I'm going to tell you all the tragic tale of Edouard of Lancaster, a naughty prince with a bad habit for crime. He found his way to an early grave with his constant brattiness and perviness, abuse of his wife, and murdering of cats. Our tale begins when Henry married Margaret, and got her pregnant"

Behind him, Romeo as Henry VI came onstage with Hermia as Margaret of Anjou. Romeo went over to a keyboard, and started to play it and sing along as other characters entered.

"Welcome to Henry VI's court, VI's court, VI's court, welcome to Henry VI's court, come inside! Please be quiet, Warwick! And take your shoes off, and find a spot on the floor! Welcome to Henry VI's court, VI's court, VI's court, we're going to do some praying! Who's excited? I am! Are you excited? Hands up if you're ready to do some praying!" He stopped playing, and turned to face the audience "Welcome to the magical world of Henry VI's court! Who wants to start with the Lord's Prayer?"

"There's no time for that today, Harry" scolded Hermia as Margaret "I have some very special news!"

"I think praying is still important" Harry shook his head.

"Harry, you're going to be a father!" snapped Margaret.

"Really? A Father?" exclaimed Harry, leaping up excitedly.

"Yes! We will have a son for England!" exclaimed Margaret.

"Wait, what?" Harry gasped "I thought you meant you were going to release me from my vows and kingship and let me become a priest! Father Harry!"

"No!" yelled Margaret "You stupid man! I'm having a baby! Look! Baby scan!"

She yanked out a scan and showed it to Harry.

"Urgh, it's disgusting! It looks like..."

"Somerset!" exclaimed the Duke of York.

"Oh no he did not!" gasped Hal.

"How can you say that about our son!" cried Margaret "He's beautiful! I'm going to call him Edouard!"

"A French name? What the bloody hell would Hal say?" scolded the Duke of York.

"That's more like it, buddy!" shouted Hal.

"No! That's a horrid name!" wailed Harry. He started to stagger around.

"Guys, look at the king!" exclaimed Warwick.

"He's going to faint!" shouted the Duke of York.

"He's fainted!" announced Somerset.

"Oh my God!" gasped Hal "My son! He's fainted! One of you French-lickers help him!"

"I think he's asleep" said the Duke of York.

"Asleep?" Margaret demanded "He's _asleep_?!"

"Henry VI slept for a long time" narrated Hal, as the Duke of York picked Harry up by his ankles and dragged him offstage "Meanwhile, Margaret tried to run the kingdom, ignoring advice offered to her by the Duke of York and Warwick. Finally, on the 13th October, Margaret went into labour, and gave birth to a son. Prince Edward, of Lancaster, informally known as Edouard"

"It's a boy!" announced a midwife, bringing Alexei onstage, who was playing baby Edouard. Alexei didn't look happy to be playing the naughty prince, and was grizzling.

"Hey Harry!" the Duke of York poked the sleeping king "Look, it's your son!"

"But Harry did not reply" said Hal "He continued to sleep, and sleep, and meanwhile, Margaret stirred up trouble. Only when Edouard was a year old, did he wake up. But things didn't get better. Margaret spoiled and indulged her only son. Eventually, when Edouard was six, the Duke of York and Warwick couldn't take it anymore"

The cast re-entered. Gabriel shuffled along on his knees, pretending to be the six year old Edouard. The audience sniggered.

"Hey, Edward, Edmund!" said Margaret "I was wondering, whilst that idiot husband of mine goes to church, if you could babysit Edouard whilst I go out to get my bikini wax?"

Edward and Edmund looked at each other.

"AAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHH! NOOOOOOOOOO! NOT THE BRAT!" they both screamed, and ran offstage. Margaret looked furious. Edouard tugged at Harry's royal robe.

"Daddy, I want a pony!" he shrieked.

"You can have one when we go home" said Harry kindly.

"No, I want one now!" roared Edouard.

"But I can't get you one right now. I promise to get you one when we get home"

"BUT I WANT IT!" screamed Edouard. He leapt up onto a table prop "I want a feast, I want a bean feast. Cream buns and doughnuts and fruitcake with no nuts so good you could go nuts. Now! I want a ball! I want a party! Pink macaroons and a million balloons and performing baboons! Give it to me now! I want the world, I want the whole world. I want to lock it all up in my pocket, it's my bar of chocolate! Give it to me now! I want today, I want tomorrow, I want to wear them like braids in my hair and I don't want to share them! I want a party with roomfuls of laughter! Ten thousand ton of ice cream! And if I don't get the things I am after I'm going to scream! I want the works, I want the whole works! Presents and prizes and sweets and surprises in all shapes and sizes, and now! Don't care how, I want it now! Don't care how, I want it now!"

"Shut up, Harry!" snapped Margaret "He can have whatever he wants! Come on, Edouard, I'll buy you a pony"

"I want two!"

"I'll buy you two" The family left the stage, leaving Warwick and York.

"This can't go on" said Warwick.

"I know. He's a brat. He'll be a terrible king!" agreed the Duke of York "What shall we do?"

"Hey..." Warwick mused, breaking into thought "You're descended from Edward III's second son, right?"

"Right"

"And Harry and Edouard are descended from his third son, John of Gaunt?"

"Right"

"Well, then, you should be king!"

"Should I?"

"Yes! You're not spoilt and bratty and ginger, are you?"

"No!"

"And neither are your sons"

"Well...I am a bit concerned about Ned's porn obsession but I'm sure he'll grow out of it"

"So then we'll start!" sang Warwick "I have the men and arms, you have the name and ancestors. You have sons and heirs, and I have money and land. Oh, Margaret won't know what's hit her!"

"I'll start now!" exclaimed York "I'll go to York, and rally my troops! I'll crown myself, and crown my sons, and stop George from drinking my wine"

"And I will go to Warwick Castle, and get my weapons! I'll get my guns and tanks. I'll send Isabel and Anne to Disneyland, and keep them from harm's way!"

"Great plan! Once we've met Margaret in the field, we'll capture her, and send her back to France"

"And as for Edouard..."

"Ah, I'd forgotten him"

"We'll send him to Super Nanny, and perhaps he won't be such a brat!"

"And what about King Harry?"

"You heard the man, he wants to be a priest!"

"So, we'll send him to the monks"

"And you will keep his crown"

"And I will keep his crown!"

The music died down, and York left. Warwick walked to the front of the stage "Kingmaking is rather fun, I hope I don't make a habit of it, though!"

"Edouard and his family were in peril" said Hal "Through their own actions, they had placed themselves in danger. Many battles were fought. None as good as Agincourt, though. Warwick and York won, and then lost, and then won, and lost again. And then something very tragic happened"

"Edouard, Edouard darling!"

"Yes, mama!" Edouard came onstage, and Margaret entered from the other side.

"I have brought you a present!"

"About time too, I didn't get one yesterday!"

"This isn't just any present, though"

"GIVE IT TO ME!"

"Bring the prisoners!" cackled Margaret. York and one of his sons, Edmund, was brought onstage.

"You've captured the pretender!" beamed Edouard.

"Yes, my little pain au chocolat! I have! Now, sweetipops, you can decide what we do with them!"

"Oh, oh! I know!"

"What?"

"We should take their toys away!"

"A bit more evil than that, darling!"

"I know! Let's cut their heads off!"

The lighting dimmed, and Margaret and her prisoners froze. Hal stood up, and ran over to Edouard.

"Edouard, no, you can't!" shouted Hal "You're only a child! You shouldn't kill people!"

"Who the bloody hell are you?" demanded Edouard.

"I'm your grandfather, Hal!"

"The one who killed all the French people?"

"Yes"

"Well, you killed people too!"

"That's different! They were French!" Hal cried. When Edouard just looked at him, he tried again "Edouard, you don't have to do this. You're only a child. You should be playing with your friends and learning how to be a good prince. They didn't mean to fight you, you were just being a brat, and they were worried about the country. There's another way, Edouard"

"No, there is not! I will do what I want! I am Prince Edouard!" screamed Edouard "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!"

Hal ran back to the side of his head. The prisoners were dragged offstage. Margaret and Edouard left.

"After Edouard killed the poor Yorkists, he and his mother soon found that what goes around, comes around. The Duke of York still had sons. He had his heir, and two others. One day, there were three suns in the sky. On that very day, the Duke of York's eldest son, Edward, who spelt his name the correct ENGLISH way, beat up Edouard and Margaret's army, and they were forced to flee, whilst he crowned himself...KingNed04! Hashtag, yolo, hashtag, yorkrocks"

Margaret and Edouard entered the stage, running with suitcases. The Yorkist characters entered. Edward walked over to the keyboard, and like Harry before him, began to play it and sing.

"Welcome to Edward IV's court, IV's court, IV's court, welcome to Edward IV's court, come inside! Please be quiet, Dickon! And take your shoes off, and find a spot on the floor! Welcome to Edward IV's court, IV's court, IV's court, we're going to watch some porn films! Who's excited? I am! Are you excited? Hands up if you're ready to watch some naked girls!" He stopped playing, and turned to face the audience "Welcome to the magical world of Edward IV's court! Who wants to start with Hot Woodville Babes?"

"So, Ned" said Warwick "Now we're got rid of those Lancasters, you need to start thinking about getting an heir"

"Oh, I'm sure he'll have no problem with that!" giggled George, elbowing Richard, who giggled too.

Warwick smiled at the boys "I have signed you up to Plenty Of Fish. Princess Bona of Savoy has winked at you!"

"Oh, really?" said Edward "I signed up to Uniform Dating Dot Com, and met this amazing sexy woman. She's a Lancastrian widow, with two sons, but by God! Those tits!"

"Ned, that's not a good idea" said Richard cautiously.

"Dickon is right. Ned, I think that Bona is a perfect match, she-"

"Well, it's too late!" cried Edward "I've married her! Her name is Elizabeth Woodville, and she's fucking awesome in bed!"

The audience roared with laughter. Elizabeth seethed.

"Wait, what?" gasped Warwick "You married this woman and you didn't tell me?"

"Soz" shrugged Edward.

"That's against the rules of the Bro Code! And the Lad Bible! How could you do this to me, Ned?"

"I said soz!"

Warwick started to cry "After everything we've been though...all those drunken nights out...all the times we played Ring of Fire...that week in Magaluf...it meant nothing to you?"

"It meant everything to me!"

"So why did you break the Bro Code?"

"Ned, this is mean" said George.

"Yeah, Ned! You only ever think..." began Richard.

"With the head..." said George.

"That's in your trousers!" the boys chorused.

"Shut up!"

The brothers exited, with Richard and George singing and taunting Edward. Finally, Warwick was left onstage.

"I can't believe he'd do this" he wailed "He's a poohead! I'll show him...I'll teach him what it means to break the Bro Code! I'll kidnap his brothers and hold them captive in Calais!"

Warwick hid behind a tree prop, as Richard and George walked back onstage.

"What a beautiful day at Middleham!" exclaimed George.

"Why, yes it is!" agreed Richard.

"Let's play that game we play, where you say a word, and I sing a song about it. Ok?"

"Ok!"

"Give me a word"

"Er...Middleham!"

"Middleham, Middleham, come and hang out at Middleham, Middleham...give me another. Give me a sentence this time"

"Watching a DVD at your house"

"Richard's coming over, to watch a DVD! Who's cooking dinner? Not me!" Both boys laughed, and George carried on "That's how it usually is when you come over, isn't it, Richard? I never cook-" he spotted the audience "Oh, um, next word, please! But this time, give me a name!"

Meanwhile, Warwick leant out from behind the tree, holding a fishing net.

"Elizabeth Woodville!" yelled Richard.

"Money, money, money! Must be funny! In a Woodville's world! Aha-AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! WARWICK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Warwick slammed the net over his head and started to drag him offstage "You boys are coming with me!"

"Noooooooo!" wailed Richard.

"How could you do this to us!" cried George.

"It's for your own good!" snapped Warwick.

"Dickon! Run! Save yourself! This is Warwick's evil twin...Kciwraw!"

"WHO?!"

"Never mind! Just run! And tell Ned, that if I die, he can have my Playboy magazines!"

Warwick left, dragging George. Richard ran in the opposite direction, screaming.

"Ned! Ned! Neeeeeeeeed!"

Edward and Elizabeth entered. The audience roared with laughter, whilst Elizabeth seethed at her portrayal onstage.

"What is it, Dickon?" asked Edward, sitting on a throne. Elizabeth sat on his lap.

"It's Warwick!" wailed Richard "He's got George!"

"Yes, I know that, you were staying Middleham for the weekend"

"No, he's kidnapped him! And he's taken him to Calais to hold him ransom!"

"Don't be silly!" dismissed Elizabeth.

"No, he really has!" cried Richard.

"Why would Warwick kidnap George?" asked Edward.

"Because he's mad at you for breaking the Bro Code!"

"I said soz" Edward rolled his eyes.

"But he's still got him!"

"But why would they go to Calais?" asked Elizabeth "Why would they go to France? What the hell is there for them in France?"

Edward, Elizabeth and Richard looked at each other.

"EDOUARD!"

"We have to save George!" yelled Richard "What if he kills him like he did to daddy and Edmund?"

"Let's get some armies!" exclaimed Edward "We're coming to save you, Georgy, don't you worry!"

They ran offstage.

"Warwick and his family got on a plane" said Hal "But, two claimants to the role of the God of Thunder were having a dispute. Thor, the Norse God of Thunder, and Raiden, the Japanese God of Thunder, were fighting"

"BOOM!" yelled Thor, running across the stage, hitting the props left, right and centre with his hammer "BOOM! I'm the God of Thundaaaa!"

"No! I'm the God of Thunder!" shouted Raiden, Gabriel's younger brother, playing himself.

"I'm the God of Thunder!"

"No, I am!"

"I am!"

"Give me the hammer, bitch! Or I'll throw sushi at you!"

"It's mine!"

"No, mine!"

Warwick and his family, with George tied up, entered, carrying a cardboard plane.

"Woah!" they cried, being tussled between the two warring deities.

"They crash-landed at Angers, were Edouard and Margaret were staying..." Hal trailed off dramatically.

Margaret entered the stage, wearing curlers and a nightie.

"What the hell? Warwick's plane? In my garden? Is this some kind of prank?"

"No!" exclaimed Warwick, leaping up "We've crash-landed! In your garden!"

"Warwick! My enemy! How dare you show your disgusting face around here!"

"Whatever" sighed Warwick "Anne, come out, now, don't be shy"

"Are we safe now, dad?"

"As long as Edouard doesn't act like a perv, we're fine"

"My head hurts" wailed George "I want some Malmsey wine!"

"My son is not a perv! He is the rightful Prince of Wales!" screamed Margaret.

Linton, playing Henry Tudor, entered "How is he the Prince of Wales? He knows nothing about Wales! He doesn't know anything about sheep!"

Edouard stormed onstage "Yes, I do! They say baa!"

"Oh my god! He's so ugly!" cried Anne, shielding her eyes "God help the poor bitch who marries him!"

"Well" said Warwick.

"Well, what?" demanded Margaret.

"It's no coincident we crash-landed in your garden" announced Warwick.

"What on earth do you mean?"

"Ned's not my friend anymore. He married a woman and he didn't even tell me first. And I don't like her. So I kidnapped George. I tried to get Richard but he ran away"

"Is that the one with the hunchback?" asked Tudor.

"Who told you that lie!" gasped Anne.

"Edouard did!"

"He's horrible!" exclaimed Anne "Dad, let's leave! If we can't go back to England, let's go to Disneyland again!"

"You're too old for Disneyland now, Anne, it's time to grow up! I have a husband for you"

"Who? Richard?"

"No!"

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" asked Margaret.

"What?" demanded Edouard "Tell me what's going on! I am the Prince of Wales! I demand to know what the hell is going on!"

"I have a plan" sang Warwick "A new plan! York let me down-"

"We did not!" protested George.

"-and now I'm sad" Warwick carried on "But I have a naughty habit, yes I have a naughty habit!"

"What is it?" asked Margaret.

"I'm the Kingmaker!" sang Warwick.

"He's the Kingmaker!" sang the rest of the cast. The music blasted and the lights when down. Warwick started to dance.

"Without me, York would have never begun-"

"That's why we hate you!" yelled Margaret.

"You tell him, mama!" added Edouard.

"Let me finish! Without me, Ned wouldn't have all these armies. He wouldn't know how to fight, wouldn't know how to rule. He'd be nothing!"

"He'd be nothing" agreed the cast.

"I helped dispose mad Harry, and install Edward, why not do it the other way round?"

"No way!" barked Margaret.

"I'm the only chance you have!"

"He's the only chance you have" sang the cast "He's the Kingmaker!"

"I'm the Kingmaker!"

"Name your price" Margaret scowled.

"You have a son, and I have a daughter. Your husband is mad and unable to rule. Let's unite our houses and rule England together" Warwick finished singing.

"You mean Isabel would divorce George?" asked Anne.

"No!" exclaimed Isabel and George "He means you!"

"Me?" cried Anne "But I hate him!"

"And I hate you" snapped Edouard.

"I thought I was going to marry Richard!"

"The one with the hunchback?"

"Stop interrupting, Tudor!"

"Go and get me a beer, you little sheep-shagger!" snapped Edouard.

"I don't want too!"

"Do it! I am the Prince!"

"Fine!"

"Yes, I'm the Kingmaker!" Warwick started to sing again "And everyone will do as I will. I will install Harry and after him my daughter shall be queen, and my own grandson will be king..."

"I feel sick" whined Anne.

"Maybe she's pregnant with Gloucester's baby!" giggled Tudor.

"Shut up, Tudor!"

"Get me my beer!"

"Fine!" Tudor stormed offstage.

"Now, let us begin planning the invasion" said Warwick.

"Good idea" said Margaret.

"What do we do with the Duke of Nothing?" taunted Edouard, poking George.

"Oh, Tudor!" called Margaret.

"Yes, aunt Margaret?" replied Tudor, coming back onstage with a beer.

"Throw the Yorkist in the dungeon"

The cast exited.

"Finally, Edouard had the chance to leave France for home. Maybe he'd be a real prince, for the first time in life!" narrated Hal "But he had a wife who hated him, and a set of in-laws who his beloved mummy didn't trust, and a cousin who couldn't stand him"

Edouard re-entered. He looked at the audience "It is time" he sang "It is time I became prince! It is time, that I reclaim father's heritage! Oh to think, that I'll make my ancestors proud-"

"Not me, you spoilt brat!" interrupted Hal, stomping onto the middle of the stage.

"Who's that?" Edouard whirled around.

"It's me, your Grandfather Hal"

"Grandpa Hal? Why are you here?"

"For the same reason I came when you killed those poor Yorkists"

"To do what?"

"To help you!"

"Help me with what exactly?"

"To be a good prince" said Hal.

"A good prince?" frowned Edouard "Does it matter, as long as I'm prince, whether I'm good or not?"

"Yes!"

"You were naughty" accused Edouard "You hung around with Falstaff in taverns!"

"I was naughty" admitted Hal "But I was never cruel. I never hurt anyone. I just wanted to have fun"

"Hurting people is fun" snarled Edouard.

"No, it's not, Edouard! It's not right!"

"Shut up! I don't care! I'm Prince Edouard, and I do what I want!"

"You don't understand..." sang Hal softly, as he faded away.

Anne entered.

"How could my father be so cruel!" she cried to the skies "Edouard is perverted! Everyone knows that! How can he just...expect me to marry him, put up with him for the rest of my miserable life, all so he can see his grandson crowned?"

"Tell me about it"

Anne whirled around "Tudor?"

"I hate him too" Tudor walked up to her "He bullies me all the time! And yet I have to serve him, because I'm his heir if he doesn't have children. If anything happens to Uncle Harry and Edouard, I'm the last hope of Lancaster"

"How do you survive?"

"I don't know" sighed Tudor "All I do, is I dream of a better life"

"A better life?"

"My mother had me at thirteen, and my father was dead. They took me away from her when I was a baby. I wish I could see her"

"Tudor...that's so sad"

"One day" sang Tudor "I pray that things will be better. One day, I pray we'll live in peace"

"I pray for that too" sang Anne "I pray for my love, and I pray for our life together. I know we're far away now, but we're always in each other's hearts"

"I pray that I'll be normal" Tudor carried on "I pray that I can go to school, without fear for my life. I pray that I can make friends my own age, who like me for me"

"I pray that people won't see me, as just a little rich girl. I pray they'll see me for who I am, and I won't just be a pawn"

"We pray that we survive this endless turmoil of war" the two sang sweetly together "We pray no matter what happens, who wins and who is defeated, our loved ones shall be safe. And one day..."

"One day!" Tudor added.

"We pray that Edouard dies!"

"Edouard was married to poor Anne" said Hal "Neither liked the other, but there was little they could do. If Edouard wanted to be king, then he had to make a truce and an alliance with the Kingmaker, who subsequently invaded England and released my son, Harry. And if Anne ever wanted to go home, then she had to put up with Edouard"

"Wife!" roared Edouard, entering the stage "Wife!"

"Yes, Edouard?"

"I want to consummate the marriage, right now!"

"You can't, because you want to annul it later" replied Anne.

"I don't care. No one's going to know if we don't tell them!"

"If I don't tell them" threatened Anne.

"Then I'll cut your tongue out like I cut off darling Dickon's father's head" hissed Edouard "I know you still love him"

"And I know you couldn't have sex with me even if you wanted to" retorted Anne "You have erectile dysfunction"

"I do not! Who told you that?"

"Tudor did"

"That little skeez...I'll kill that brat whilst you watch, and then I'll kill you, slut, so that I don't need to bother with an annulment! Get out of my sight!"

"Edouard!" shouted Hal, outraged, as Anne left "You do not treat women like that!"

"I'll treat her how I want!" roared Edouard.

"She's not yours to torment!"

"Everyone is mine to torment! I'm the prince!" screamed Edouard.

"Edouard, if you don't stop, you'll meet a sticky end" warned Hal "You're almost to far in to get out...let me help you"

"No! Stop appearing to me, you deluded mad freak!"

"Edouard!" called Margaret. Edouard spun around and Hal exited the stage "Edouard!"

"Yes, mummy?"

"I've just had a letter"

"From who?"

"Prince Escalus, of Verona"

"Where the hell is that?"

"In Italy"

"Oh, great. Is he sending us an army?"

"No. He's invited us to a wedding"

"A what?"

"A wedding! In the summer" replied Margaret "We will travel to Italy, and take the Yorkist prisoner with us. I dare say he'll have a craving for some sweet Italian wine, after the French piss we've been giving him!"

Both mother and son cackled with laughter as the curtains fell.

* * *

"Have they forgotten my name?" sang George, crouching in his dungeon cell "Have they forgotten who I am? I've been locked up for months now. I haven't seen my love. Do Ned and Dickon not care for me? Am I the odd one out?"

He stood up and continued to sing.

"I should have known all along, that my brothers did not care for me. I should have known, that Ned hated me, when he wouldn't let me marry my wife. I should have known, that Dickon laughed behind my back, that he was Ned's favourite. They have forgotten me, poor George, poor Duke of Clarence"

At the back of the stage, Edmund dressed as an angel entered, unbeknownst to George.

"This is my fate!" sang George "To wallow in the dungeons of Lancaster. Ned never wanted me to be his heir. Ned only cares for Dickon. I'm just the odd one out. I'm just the Loki to his Thor. No one cares for me..."

"Don't be so silly, George!"

George turned around "Edmund! You're dead!"

"Yes, I'm dead" said Edmund "And as you can see, I am an angel"

"Nice dress"

"Thanks!"

"Why have you come here? This is the dungeon of Angers castle"

"I came to help you!"

"To help me? You're going to set me free?"

"I can't do that" Edmund shook his head "But don't lose courage. Ned and Dickon love you!"

"No, they don't! If they loved me, they'd have rescued me! I'm...I'm just the odd one out! It's always Ned and Dickon, Ned and Dickon, and I'm left out!"

"How do you think I feel? I'm dead and I'm left out of everything! There should be four sons of York, not three!"

"That's true" nodded George "But it's too late to do anything! Edouard has taken my money, my land, my men and he's using them to invade England!"

"No, it isn't! You're going to Italy, where you can make your escape! There will be a temporary truce whilst you are there. Take the chance to go back to Ned and Dickon, and they will help you! It's going to be all right, George!"

"It is? It really is?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Edmund "I have to leave now. Edouard is coming to let you free"

Edmund was lifted up to the top of the stage by a harness attached to his wings, and Edouard entered.

"Hello, prisoner"

"Hello, Prince Prat"

"We're going to Italy today"

"Yes, I know that"

"How? You've been shut in here for months"

"I have something you haven't got" retorted George "I have brothers. And that's why I'm not a brat!"

"Oh, so where are they? Oh, yes, they've forgotten about you!"

"No, they have not. No matter what you do, no matter what you lie to them about, they're my brothers and we look out for each other! But then again, I wouldn't expect you to understand that, since no one loves you apart from your mother"

"Who cares about having stupid brothers, I have a cousin! Tudor!"

"Yeah, and he hates you even more than Tybalt hates Allegra!"

Suddenly, there was a scream offstage.

"What's that?" asked George.

Edouard laughed demonically "That's your sister-in-law! I killed her kitten this morning!"

"You're evil!"

"Yes. Yes I am! Now get up. We're going to Italy"

They left, and Tudor and Anne entered.

"She was just an innocent kitten" wept Anne "She never hurt anyone. Why would Edouard kill her?"

"Because he's evil, that's why! He uses my sheep as shooting targets! He says the blood shows up on their wool better"

"Oh, Tudor, that's terrible!"

"I know. But we mustn't let him win. He's just a psycho. He's just a Sid from Toy Story!"

"No! He cannot have this victory over us!"

"He's just a kitten-killer, kitten-killer, kitten-killer, damn him, he's a kitten-killer!" sang Tudor.

"No one loves him, and so he unleashes his hate on the innocents" Anne sang.

"He's just a kitten-killer, kitten-killer, kitten-killer, damn him, he's a kitten-killer!"

"He thinks he can break me in this way, but I'm mad of stronger stuff"

"He's just a kitten-killer, kitten-killer, kitten-killer, damn him, he's a kitten-killer!"

"If I am the Kingmaker's daughter, then I'll unmake him"

"He's just a kitten-killer, kitten-killer, kitten-killer, damn him, he's a kitten-killer!"

"I'll let the world know what he truly is, and see the people flock to my side!"

"He's just a kitten-killer, kitten-killer, kitten-killer, damn him, he's a kitten-killer!"

"Italy shall be the start, no one tolerates bullshit there!"

"He's just a kitten-killer, kitten-killer, kitten-killer, damn him, he's a kitten-killer!"

"Come on, Tudor, let's teach this kitten-killer a lesson!"

Edward and his Yorkist court entered, carrying a cardboard cutout of a plane with a white rose on it. Then, Harry and his Lancastrian court entered, carrying another cardboard cutout of a plan, but with a red rose on it. They both landed in Italy, and climbed out.

"Ned!" yelled George "Ned! Over here! I've been kidnapped! I mean, Dukenapped!"

"Stop him! The hostage is getting away!" yelled Margaret, but George had reached the Yorkist side. His brothers hugged him. Edouard watched curiously. They exited, leaving Edouard alone.

"It's strange, isn't it?"

Edouard whirled around "What do you mean? What do you want from me, Grandpapa Hal?"

"I just meant it must be strange" said Hal "To have people love you and care about you like that, even if you are a selfish alcoholic, like George"

"I've never had anyone love me like that" murmured Edouard "Apart from mama. My dad hated me from the moment I was born, and I never had any brothers"

"That's not true, Edouard, he was shocked. He wanted to be a priest, and then suddenly, this little baby was pressed upon him. He is a kind, sweet man. You'll get to know him now you're reunited"

"You never knew him either" accused Edouard.

"No. I didn't" sighed Hal "I died. I wish I'd been there to protect him better"

"Well, you weren't" snapped Edouard "You let dad down, you let me down, and you let the House of Lancaster down!"

"I never let the House of Lancaster down, I made it great! We won Agincourt, we brought peace to England after that idiot Richard II. It's all your fault, Edouard! You're the Lancaster of today!"

Edouard rushed offstage in tears, Hal turned and faced the audience.

"Lancasters these days, you'd have to be a fool these days, to want to support Lancaster these days! They're bullies and thugs, Edouard does sex and drugs, we're not what we used to be! There's nowhere to hide, from Edouard's backside, watch out for Margaret Beaufort's teen pregnancy! They're the worst family in England, where you can inherit ginger hair! Lancasters these days! Don't want to support Lancaster!"

Hal exited. The two playing Richard and Anne re-entered.

"I hardly recognised you when you got off the plane" said Richard "You're not a girl anymore"

"And you're not a boy either"

"I can't believe you're married to Edouard"

"Me neither..." Anne glanced away, but then looked back "Oh, Dickon, I detest him! He's vile and cruel and I hate him! He killed my kitten because I answered him back. Oh, Dickon, I don't know what to do!"

"He killed your kitten?" gasped Richard "He's evil!" he stroked her hair "Don't worry anymore. I'm here now. Do you remember, sweet, when we were young? Those days at Middleham?"

"Those parties in year nine, we thought we ruled the world" sang Anne.

"George funnelled all that beer...I held his head whilst he hurled!" sang Richard.

"We were like gods back then, walking among common men, tell me why can't it be that way again?"

"Dreams don't just disappear, we could keep on dreaming them here!"

"What do you mean?"

"We're together again. This could be like year nine, but funner! I know the future's not bright, but let's have some harmless fun. Let's do something for us"

"You're right, Dickon!" said Anne "My life has been chaotic enough to put on Jeremy Kyle, let's put the nail in the coffin and have an extramarital affair!"

"Great! I'll just go and pinch some of Ned's condoms"

They exited the stage, and Edouard entered.

"They're making me share a room with Anne. Stupid rude Italians. Do you know what that prick Mercutio keeps calling me? He thinks I can't understand what he's saying because it's in Italian. He calls me Joffrey. I know it's an insult, but I don't know what insult!"

He reached a door on the middle of the stage. Tudor entered.

"Edouard! Don't go in there!"

"Why not?"

"Just don't!"

"I'm the prince and I'll do what I like!"

"No! Don't!" yelped Tudor helplessly.

Edouard flung open the door.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" screamed Richard and Anne.

"You bitch!" roared Edouard "You're having an affair!"

"It's not like you've never had an affair" retorted Anne.

"That's different. I'm a man! I can do that!"

"That's not very fair"

"I don't know what you see in him, he's so short and dark and...Yorkist!"

"He's a good kisser" shrugged Anne.

"What about my kissing?"

"I don't know, you're kind of like a dog, a bit sloppy and stuff"

"You're a bitch, you're a bloody bitch!" cursed Edouard "I'm going to bloody divorce you, so you can marry your ugly hunchbacked Yorkist and have ugly hunchback Yorkist children!"

"Oh well" shrugged Anne "Sounds like a happy ending to me"

"This is hilarious!" giggled Tudor.

"Shut it, Tudor!" snapped Edouard "You're next!"

"What have I done?"

"You let them do this and you stood guard!"

"Actually I was spying"

"You little pervert!" gasped Richard.

"Ok, well, I think I'm going to move my stuff to the Yorkist rooms" said Anne, getting up and wrapping herself in a duvet.

"Here, let me carry that, sweetheart!" said Richard, wrapping himself in a sheet and taking her bags.

"Oh, cheers, Dickon!"

They left, and Edouard shoved Tudor out, before running at the bed, flinging himself on it and crying hysterically.

"Edouard, you didn't even love her" Hal shook his head.

"She cheated on me! No one has ever cheated on me before!"

"Edouard, you treated her badly. This was only to be expected"

"Whatever, you prick! Get lost! I won't let them get away with this"

"I hope you aren't planning something evil" Hal sang.

"I am planning something evil!" Edouard sang back "I'm planning something terrible, so horrible, so evil!"

"Edouard, you are a naughty prince, and this isn't right. There's still time to turn away, there's still time to be a good man. Edouard, listen to me..."

"No!" snarled Edouard, jumping upright "I'm in too far, I can't escape. One evil deed must lead to another. I know how to hurt, it's the only thing that I can do. I want to make them scream in pain, I want to watch things die"

"Edouard, no!"

"That pathetic Lady Anne" Edouard sang "has made some new little friends. I know how to hurt her gentle heart. I know who shall be my victim"

"Edouard, you can't!"

"I can! And I know a man, a man who has what I need! An army of violent Spartans, to ravage England. I know a way I can get what we both want"

"No, Edouard, don't get involved with Demetrius!"

Edouard stopped, and looked back at Hal. The tune of the song changed "Winning wars is hard sometimes, you just can't get by. You need an army fast, so you can fly. Athenians, or maybe some Spartans..."

"Stop, no! Take this advice from me!" interrupted Hal "Don't get involved with Demetrius' thugs! Just fill your life with hugs! Don't get involved, don't get involved with thugs!"

"That wasn't what you did at Agincourt! You didn't hug the French people!"

"Because they were French! But the people who followed me...they believed in me and they believed in our cause. We were a band of brothers, not a band of thugs"

"Well, it's too late!" Edouard roared, jumping around the stage "This isn't Agincourt. I want my throne and I want it now! I'll be king, and that's final!"

He exited, and Hal walked to the front of the stage.

"Oh, Edouard. I don't know what to do. You are the son of my son. I have tried to help you but it just won't work. Why won't you listen? Why are you like this? Was it me? Was it Margaret? Harry? Oh, Edouard..."

"I feel the same" sang Harry, entering the stage "I just don't know how he could be my son. Did I do something wrong? Is this a test from God?"

Hal gently placed his hand on his son's shoulder. Harry closed his eyes and laid his head over it, and Hal gently led him offstage.

Edouard and Raiden, playing his older brother, Gabriel, marched onstage.

"You are evil, Edouard!" shrieked Gabriel "Angelo says, you're banished from Italy!"

"I don't care! I'm going to kill him when I get my army, and I'll kill your brat too!"

"Touch Alexei and I'll rip your cock off and stuff it up your asshole!"

"Did you just threaten me?" hissed Edouard.

"Yes! And before you call yourself a prince, I'll have you know that I don't bow to anyone! Except perhaps Vaslav Nijinsky...such an amazing dancer..."

"Freak!"

"Edouard left Italy in disgrace, with no wife, no army, no alliance. Warwick the Kingmaker arrived in England first, but he was soon killed in battle. His enemies had the support of the Italian armies. Harry was so ashamed of his son, that before the Lancasters left Italy, he drowned himself in the River Adige" narrated Hal "Things looked very bad. As they flew back to England, it was a race against time for the English throne. The Yorkist brothers were united, and all Edouard had was his mother. Finally, the two armies met. At a town called Tewkesbury"

The music began, and the cast dressed in combat clothes filled the stage and started to sing "Tewkesbury! Tewkesbury! T-t-t-t-Tewkesbury! Tewkesbury! Tewkesbury! T-t-t-t-Tewkesbury!"

"He's a naughty prince with a, bad habit, bad habit for crime! He's a bratty prince with a, bad habit, bad habit for crime!" sang Hal.

"Tewkesbury! Tewkesbury! T-t-t-t-Tewkesbury! Tewkesbury! Tewkesbury! T-t-t-t-Tewkesbury!"

Edouard entered, wearing combat trousers and a vest top "My name is Edouard. Some Yorkists call me a brat. And I've a dirty habit for murdering cats!"

Tudor rushed onstage, holding Edouard's gun.

"Give me it. I want to kill King Edward really bad!" demanded Edouard.

"No! Edouard! Don't fight the Yorkists!" said Tudor

"It's too late, Tudor" said Edouard. He snatched the water gun, turned to the audience and sprayed.

"Nooooo!" wailed Tudor, running offstage. Edouard put the gun aside and sauntered up to a pole.

"He's a naughty prince with a, bad habit, bad habit for crime! He's a bratty prince with a, bad habit, bad habit for crime!" sang Hal.

Edouard wrapped himself around the pole and started to dance. The audience jeered loudly.

"Tewkesbury! Tewkesbury! T-t-t-t-Tewkesbury! Tewkesbury! Tewkesbury! T-t-t-t-Tewkesbury!"

"He's a naughty prince with a, bad habit, bad habit for crime! He's a bratty prince with a, bad habit, bad habit for crime!" sang Hal. The music slowed, and Hal sang softly as Edouard waggled his hips around the pole "He's a brat and he knows it. He wants to creep on the girls. He can't help being a perv on a Saturday night. He can't help being a brat on a Saturday night!"

Edouard let go of the pole, and Edward, George and Richard entered, carrying guns. Edouard grabbed his gun.

"It's all over, Edouard!" cried Edward "Your army has been killed and your mother has fled to Cerne Abbey. You can surrender now and you won't be killed"

"Never!" spat Edouard "I am the prince! The prince! I am the rightful king!"

He grabbed his gun and charged at Edward. George rushed forwards and stabbed. Edouard screamed, watching the red stain spread across his shirt. He sobbed, and then fell forwards, motionless.

"Let's go, brothers" said Edward. They placed they arms around each other and left.

"Ahhh! Edouard! Edouard is dead! The Yorks have killed him!" screamed Margaret, running onstage.

"Oh my God, Edouard! He's been killed by Clarence and his cronies! He's dead!" exclaimed Tudor, feigning sorrow. He and Margaret bent down by Edouard.

"Edouard, you lost the battle of Tewkesbury. The House of Lancaster is finished!"

"Oh Edouard. Why were you such a cunt to Anne? It's your own fault you're dead for being such a prat" stated Tudor.

"Everything ends in sadness, fulfilling all your fears" sang Margaret.

"What goes around, comes around" sang Tudor "As your life ends, mine begins"

"But you don't have to worry" Margaret and Tudor sang together "Because you're not here right now. And England is bad, bad place. And we wonder why or how"

"Oh, Edouard" Margaret sang, stroking Edouard's hair.

"Oh, Prince Prat" Tudor rolled his eyes.

"Those damn Yorks, your stupidity. You look just like, you did in your bed. Except this time you're dead! Except this time you're dead! Oh, Edouard..."

"Oh, Prince Prat..."

"Edouard..."

"Prince Prat!"

The curtains fell, and re-entered on Edward's court. He was standing at the keyboard, playing and singing.

"Edouard of Lancaster! Hmm...Edouard of Lancaster! When boys fight Yorks, and then they die! Who would have thought, on English soil, on days like these, it's an Agincourt two! Agincourt two! But Edouard died!" He turned and faced his court "I think we can all learn a lesson here. Don't fight Yorks, because you will die"

"Yes, Ned" said Richard "And don't break the Bro Code!"

The cast cheered and left the stage. Hal stood in the centre of the stage "And now, it is time for the finale! Cast, everyone one!" The whole cast ran onstage, and Hal began to sing "You're all alone, in this big wide world, and you don't know who to call your grace. And you want to tell the children, of all the English race! The Yorkist ones," Richard walked across the stage and waved "the Lancastrian ones," Harry walked across the stage and waved "the Tudor ones as well" Tudor stood in front of Hal and smiled, and Hal shoved him aside to put himself at the centre again "It just ain't right, to lose your grandchild's life, so lift your noses now to smell..."

"Aaaah! Aaaah!" sang the cast.

"The smell of life! The smell of children! The smell of killing French people together...the smell of life!"

Tudor danced to the centre of the stage "People always say, I'm Welsh and I'm gay, but they don't know the real me. But from now on, it's a brand new day, because now I'm found the key...I'm going to be King Henry!"

"The smell of life! The smell of children! The smell of killing French people together...the smell of life!"

Edouard danced onstage, dressed as a devil.

"I'd be alive if I took advice, advice from Henry V! You don't need crowns and you don't need thrones, because killing French people is royalty!"

He and Hal did a shimmy together, and then danced away.

"The smell of life! The smell of children! The smell of killing French people together...the smell of life!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" sang Hal.

"The smell of life! The smell of children! The smell of killing French people together...the smell of life!"


End file.
